Jon Rahm led the way for Europe, picking up two points on Friday as Luke Donald’s side started strong at Bethpage Black.
Rahm got off to a slow start in the morning session. Paired with Tyrrell Hatton, he looked a bit out of sorts early on against Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas. But he quickly found his rhythm, and together they put together a solid performance.
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It might have surprised some when Rahm was paired with Sepp Straka in the afternoon fourballs. Straka wasn’t at his best, but still contributed three birdies, while Rahm seemed to make everything he looked at.
It probably wasn’t what Luke Donald had planned ahead of day one — seeing Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka paired together in both sessions. But it ended up working out nicely for Europe.
The pair went out top against Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton and were quickly two up through seven holes. But Donald’s men turned it around nicely to finish all square after 18 holes. In fairness, Hatton wasn’t really involved until much later on, with Rahm carrying most of the load through the first half of the match.
Later in the day, Koepka was paired with Collin Morikawa against Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood. The American duo once again made a good start but were caught late by some clutch putting from Fleetwood. Koepka really should’ve sunk one on 18 to even things up but failed to get it done.
PGA Tour player Patrick Cantlay is still not wearing a hat, by the way. If you’re wondering why… well… you’re not alone. He claims it’s because none of them fit him properly — which seems unlikely!
Getting the better of Scottie Scheffler and J.J. Spaun felt like a notable moment, especially with Scheffler having struggled throughout Friday’s play.
After the opening day wrapped up, Max Homa spoke about it on the No Laying Up podcast. He backed Scheffler but also touched on his frustration over not facing Rahm as often as he used to.
“He’s the best golfer I’ve ever seen, him and Rahm, as far as longevity goes are the best just in my age range. Scottie’s the best prepared. He is really good at that. And I don’t know if this has something to do with it, it also could be random,” he said.
“I know what you’re saying, I don’t see him pull a pitching wedge ever, but also, we have a ridiculously high bar for the guy, like absurdly. I do think a lot of it’s random. He also seems to get paired against a guy who’s playing great or one of their two top guys going into it.”
“Which leads me to say, I feel so robbed of Rahm against Scottie on the PGA Tour,” Homa continued. “As a golf fan, it sucks because that was fun to watch them go and when Scottie got going at the end.”
Since Jon Rahm left for LIV Golf in late 2023, Scottie Scheffler has been the form player. But when it comes to the Ryder Cup, the gap in experience and results between the two tells a different story.
Scheffler is still searching for his first win in the competition since he beat Rahm in singles play back at Whistling Straits in 2021.
On the other hand, that match remains Rahm’s last defeat in Ryder Cup play. You have to go all the way back to 2018 to find the last time he lost a match with a partner.
He’s now collected 9.5 points from just 14 matches over his career. If the Americans can’t figure out how to slow him down, Keegan Bradley’s team could be facing another long week against Europe.
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