By the end of the first day of the Ryder Cup, all 24 players had been given a taste of the action, with the eight who had to sit out the Friday morning foursomes getting their chance in the afternoon four-ball session.
With the Europeans racing into a 3-1 lead, US captain Bradley handed Ryder Cup debuts to JJ Spaun, Ben Griffin and Cameron Young along with Sam Burns, who played in the 2023 match.
For the Europeans, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka and rookie Rasmus Hojgaard stepped in.
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The outcome was a 2.5 to 1.5 win for Team Europe to move them to 5.5-2.5 overnight, leaving the pairings for the Saturday morning foursomes crucial.
It was no surprise to see Luke Donald opt for the same pairings as Friday’s foursomes in the Saturday morning session, while for the US, there was just one change, with Young partnering Bryson DeChambeau rather than Justin Thomas.
Sadly for the US captain, the outcome was identical, with Donald’s side again winning 3-1 to open up a commanding 8.5-3.5 lead with one session to play on Saturday.
That is the second set of four-ball matches, but no doubt Bradley realised that, if his team wasn’t staring down the barrel at that stage, it was rapidly coming into view.
This time, he chose a little more experience, pairing the impressive Young with Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau alongside World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, Spaun with Schauffele and Burns linking up with Patrick Cantlay.
Regardless of the outcome of the session, all 24 players will compete in the Sunday singles, meaning the one US player restricted to just two sessions this year is Ben Griffin.
Ben Griffin lost his match with Bryson DeChambeau on Friday
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ahead of the match, the rookie spoke confidently about his mindset, saying: “Just because I’m a rookie doesn’t mean I’m nervous and don’t know what I’m doing out there. I feel very calm, composed, and honestly really excited.”
Unfortunately, those words weren’t convincingly backed up in the Friday afternoon four-ball session, where he and DeChambeau slipped to a 1 up defeat to Fleetwood and Rose, meaning he’ll have just one more chance to get at least half a point on the board on Sunday.
For the Europeans, there is also just one player whose second and final appearance at the 2025 Ryder Cup will be in the Sunday singles.
Rasmus Hojgaard suffered a chastening introduction to his Ryder Cup career. Playing alongside Ludvig Aberg in the Friday four-ball session, the pair were on the wrong end of a 6&5 drubbing to Young and Thomas.
Rasmus Hojgaard suffered a 6&5 defeat alongside Ludvig Aberg in the Saturday afternoon four-ball
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Because of that, along with his inexperience, it was no real surprise to see him left out of the line-up for the Saturday afternoon session.
Donald kept three of his Friday four-ball pairings in place for the session, but it was all change in one, with Hojgaard and Aberg making way and Matt Fitzpatrick coming in alongside Tyrrell Hatton, who stepped in after Donald’s original choice of Viktor Hovland withdrew with a neck injury.
At the 2023 Ryder Cup, none of the European team played fewer than three sessions, whereas for the US, only Rickie Fowler was restricted to two, the Friday foursomes and Sunday singles, losing both.
