Ryder Cup Morning: Foursomes Give Europe early lead

The 2025 Ryder Cup teed off with a bang from American Bryson DeChambeau in the golden sunrise on Long Island. But the roars and chants from the U.S.-heavy crowd were soon hushed by a dominant force in foursomes from the Europeans. With the road team jumping out to an early 3–1 lead.

How did they do it? Well, it was a birdie barrage mixed with some elite tiptoeing around errant shots. Jon Rahm & Tyrrell Hatton were down one early, but after some crazy saves they never looked back, pulling off a huge tone-setting win over a very unsharp Justin Thomas playing alongside Bryson. A cool stat as Rahm moves to 5–0 all-time in Ryder Cup foursomes play.

Then came what may have been the biggest surprise of the morning: Ludvig Åberg & Matt Fitzpatrick dismantling world #1 Scottie Scheffler & #3 Russell Henley. This one was dominated start to finish, ending in a 5&3 win. Åberg was making huge putts all morning, while Fitz was a wizard with the approaches. This match was supposed to be a major advantage for the U.S., so it was a HUGE blow in the session to never even have a chance. Henley could be headed for the bench until Sunday after a pitiful round.

In the third match, there was no spark for the Americans from the start as the “Fleetwood Mac”, the pairing of Rory McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood, looked unbeatable just as they did in Italy. Rory & Tommy were throwing darts on every hole, leaving Collin Morikawa & Harris English powerless to respond.

Facing a dominant 3–0 start from the Europeans, the last match already felt like a must-win. The “Surf Bros” Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay delivered, while Viktor Hovland made things interesting with some clutch putts on the back nine, pushing it all the way to 18. In the end, though, the crowd may have been a bit too much for Robert MacIntyre, who just couldn’t come up with the shots needed to keep pace with the Americans. It’s still early, but this could be a point that makes the difference come Sunday.

All of this gave the Europeans a huge jump start while leaving the home crowd uneasy. The dominating wins left fans shocked and fairly silent. Unit Schauffele & Cantlay, though, brought them back in the last match. Heading into the afternoon, the BIG MO could be back on America’s side. Fourballs will be key, now down 3–1, but at home, the U.S. still feels very much alive to turn it around.