Luke Donald’s decision to place his trust in Ryder Cup talisman Jon Rahm paid off in Friday’s foursomes as the Spanish star partnered with Tyrell Hatton to win the opening point of the 2025 event in New York with a dominant 4&3 victory.
Rahm relishes battles with Americans and played a starring role in Europe’s 16.5-11.5 win over Team USA in Rome two years ago.
Donald asked Rahm to take the honour of teeing off on the first hole in the first match – against a pumped-up pair of Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas – and after an errant tee shot, the Spaniard recovered his composure to get the first point on the board for Europe.
Rahm was greeted by a raucous reception at Bethpage Black – but he admitted after the match that it was a “joy” to partner Hatton.
Tough day anticipated
He told Sky Sports Golf: “We were aware it was going to be a tough day. They put two of their better players up there, two of their crowd favourites.
“We knew that the crowd was going to be loud and we were going to need our best.
“Even though we didn’t have our best start through the first seven holes, we battled, we stayed in it, and from then on we started hitting good shots and getting really positive vibes.”
On playing with Hatton, Rahm said: “This man is a joy to be partnered with.
“We’ve spent a lot of time together, and he can be very dependable when things are getting difficult.
“I have full confidence every single time and I’m just glad we were able to get it done.”
Hatton admitted the pair had to ‘dig in’ to get some blue on the scoreboard, saying: “I’m really happy with how we dug in.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult start, and the atmosphere was pretty intense.
“But it was good fun and really happy to win our point.”
What were the results of the Friday foursomes at the 2025 Ryder Cup?
Jon Rahm/Tyrell Hatton beat Bryson DeChambeau/Justin Thomas 4&3
Ludwig Åberg/Matt Fitzpatrick beat Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley 5&3
Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood beat Collin Morikawa/Harris English 5&4
Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay beat Robert MacIntyre/Viktor Hovland 2 UP
Proud captain
European captain Donald has revelled in the fact his players take part in the Ryder Cup for pride and prestige, whereas the Americans receive payment, some of which goes to charity.
The pay debate dominated the build-up to this year’s event – and after seeing Europe take charge with a 3-1 lead after the foursomes on the first day, Donald told Sky Sports Golf: “I am very proud.
“We knew the US were going to be tough but they have really thrived in this tough environment. It has been loud out here.
“Once Friday comes, it is up to them to play. They know the plan and it is good to see them sticking to it.”
Åberg and Fitzpatrick sink Scheffler and Henley
Team USA captain Keegan Bradley paired world number one Scottie Scheffler with world number three Russell Henley in the second game of the day – but Ludwig Åberg and Matt Fitzpatrick put on a dazzling display and powered to a 5&3 win.
Scheffler admitted: “I felt like Russ and I did some good things. We just didn’t hole enough putts early. We had some chances.
“I think the putts just didn’t fall. But overall, the guys we played, they played a really good round.”
On the other hand, Åberg said: “We came out of the gates early and played good golf. We hit a lot of nice shots and we made it hard for them. I had a great partner.”
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Playing with freedom
Three is the magic number, so the saying goes, and that was the case for Team Europe after their third partnership also put a point on the board.
Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood combined forces to see off Collin Morikawa and Harris English in a 5&4 victory which put the Europeans 3-0 up.
And Northern Irishman McIlroy poured praise on his partner, telling Sky Sports Golf: “I think when you’ve got a partner like Tommy, you can play with so much freedom and so much trust in your game.
“You know you have someone that’s going to back you up, and that’s how I’ve felt, the two times we’ve played in Rome and today.
“Foursomes can be a tough format. You can play a little tentative with the way the format is, but knowing I have this man beside me to bail me out if I do hit a bad shot – that’s very comforting to know.”
Motivation and belief
Fleetwood, for his part, said: “A lot of things are fuelling our belief. As a team, there’s a lot of continuity there. We have a lot of motivation, we have a lot of belief, we know what we’re playing for.
“But one step at a time – we’ve all enjoyed the process of this Ryder Cup so much and we’ve all been so excited to play, even knowing how difficult it might be.
“One step at a time and we’ll just keep going all together and we’ll see where we get to.”
Team USA get on the board
Bradley and Team USA finally had something to cheer following the conclusion of the final foursomes match, which saw Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay topple Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland 2 UP to make it 3-1 heading into the afternoon fourballs.
Cantlay said: “It was a tough match – nice to get a point on the board, get the fans going – and we are going to come out firing in the best ball [fourballs].”
Meanwhile, Schauffele added: “If we are only going to win one match, it might as well be the anchor match. We need to get some points back on the board here.”
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