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Tommy Fleetwood delighted as USA stars Scheffler and DeChambeau fail to score

Originally posted on HITC | By Jordan Harris | Last updated Sep 27, 2025 7:26 AM ET

Even with Team USA holding the home advantage at Bethpage Black, the performances of Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau always looked likely to play a key role in Keegan Bradley’s chances of regaining the Ryder Cup.

Scheffler is the world number one, and DeChambeau was arguably the most talked-about player on either team. So it made sense that Bradley put them out first on Friday morning.

But Scheffler’s struggles in this event continued. He and Russell Henley were well beaten by Matthew Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Aberg in the opening foursomes.

And things didn’t get much better for him later in the day, as he and J.J. Spaun lost to Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka.

Fleetwood on Europe’s strong start as Scheffler and DeChambeau struggle on opening day

DeChambeau got off to a decent start in the foursomes with Justin Thomas, but the pair were edged out by Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton in the top match. In the afternoon, DeChambeau played alongside Ben Griffin, but they came up short against Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, losing on the final hole.

Nobody would have expected both Scheffler and DeChambeau to finish day one without picking up any points.

Fleetwood spoke about how more than anything else, Europe’s lead heading into Saturday was more significant.

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“The scoreboard is what counts, and I think just our team as a collective, I think we obviously feel very prepared, and we’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time now. So to have got off to a good start feels great,” he said.

“Yeah of course, I mean their team is stacked with amazing players. So whoever it is, the match going to be difficult, and the points mean so much.”

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“You know, just to be out there today with Justin. I wanted to do that for a very very long time play with Justin in a Ryder Cup. It was a great match it really really was. So yeah just happy to have contributed another point towards overall score we want get too.”

Keegan Bradley faces tough decisions after Friday’s struggles

Bradley has plenty to consider going into the weekend. The choice to pair Collin Morikawa and Harris English was questionable, but few were surprised when they struggled against Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy.

Scheffler made several unforced errors, especially with his irons. If a couple of other Americans were in better form, there would be a case for Bradley to rest Scheffler on Saturday morning.

DeChambeau played better than the world number one, but finding the right foursomes partner for him remains an issue for the captain.

The U.S. can’t afford a repeat performance from DeChambeau and Scheffler on Saturday. Something will have to change if they want to get back into contention.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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