2025 Ryder Cup UPDATE: Team Europe dominates Team USA in the morning session, take 3-1 lead

Doug Bell joins CBS Sports HQ to recap the first morning session of foursomes where Europe dominated to take 3-1 lead in points.

(0:00:00) Day 1 Foursomes
(0:01:47) Europe dominates morning session
(0:06:45) Day 1 Four ball matchups

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with the NFL on CBS and Paramount+. The morning session of day one of the Ryder Cup is officially in our rear view mirror, and this is how things started off for the Americans. Not on a good foot. Sent out Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas. Tried to get the crowd going, but John Robb and Tyrrell Hatton had other stories. Taking that first one, four and three and then you figure, okay, well, maybe the world number one golfer, Scottie Scheffler, can get something going with Russell Henley. The answer to that also a resounding no. The newcomer Russell Henley, not able to match the play of Scottie Scheffler as Ludvig Holberg and Matt Fitzpatrick run away with that one as well. Five and three. So that puts the US in A20 hole. Make it three zero because Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood played absolutely out of their mind. It was like Collin Morikawa and Harris English were no match at all. The final score in that one, five and four to make it a very impressive start for Europe three. And oh, and you look for team USA and you figure, can someone step up and rise to the occasion? Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay were able to do just that. Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland made it interesting after the Americans led for most of the match, but then entering with four to play, things were all tied and level. The US won the final two holes at 17 and 18 to take that one to up. So now, as we sit with the finality of that morning session, it is the USA one, Europe three. Europe needs 14 points to retain the cup and the Americans need 14.5. As we get set for 30 minutes from now, the afternoon four ball session to begin. But to put a bow on what was a certainly up and down with tons of down moments of that opening session, we now bring in the guru of the Greens, Doug Bell and Doug. I was afraid that we were going to sit here, look at A40 hole for team USA and figure this one is completely over already. You end it with getting a point and a little bit of momentum. Going back on the side of the Americans. How much can this maybe help spur on the US moving forward after what was a disastrous start? Zach it was a gigantic point. They had to record that single point, getting skunked in the opener, four zero. I think it would have been the death knell. I think it would have been insurmountable to come back. But now at three one and the fact it was the last match, so you not only get the point, but you grab some momentum. And in the Ryder Cup, momentum is absolutely huge. Again, this is a team competition and no matter what sport you’re playing in, you know the big Mo is very, very important. And so now after suffering some really embarrassing losses early, the Americans now have an opportunity to get back in this thing. In the afternoon, the president will be there. The crowd is going to be again at a fever pitch. That’s the thing, Zach, is the euros won those first three matches. The crowd noise, I mean, it was raucous at the beginning. Then it got incredibly quiet. In fact, you heard more cheers for the euros than the Americans. So that’s why that point was so important. It got everybody, not just the players, but it got the crowd back into this Ryder Cup. And again in New York, we we’ve talked about how big that is. That was a huge point for Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. Yeah to make it three one with a little bit of life left in with a lot more golf still to be played, even coming up in 30 minutes for the afternoon session. When you look at the way things broke down this morning, of course there’s going to be so much Monday morning quarterbacking of Keegan Bradley shouldn’t have picked this guy. He shouldn’t have paired him with him. What for you is the biggest issue with how things played out this morning? Well, a couple of things. Number one, John ROM, by the way, is now five and zero in foursomes. The alternate shot, I mean think about that. The great John Rahm, he loves that format. So he goes out early and he goes against Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas who’d been practicing all week together. And Keegan Bradley said he wanted DeChambeau to hit that first shot, get the crowd enthused and into the matches, which I didn’t think was completely necessary. So again, I thought that was a bad matchup. Putting JT with DeChambeau, JT simply didn’t play well. And how about this Zach the great Scottie Scheffler, the best player in the world has never won a point in Ryder Cup competition in foursomes. He just hasn’t been paired with somebody who who he has synced up with. And today Russell Henley, the shortest hitter of all the players at the Ryder Cup. Of the 24 man, he’s the shortest hitter. And that was obvious today. Every time he teed off on the odd holes, Scottie Scheffler was some 2530 yards behind the Europeans. So he was hitting a longer club into the greens and that just didn’t match up well. So you get bombarded there and then all of a sudden the great pairing of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, Zach, these guys through 14 holes, they were six under par. I mean that even for great players like Rory and Fleetwood, that is that is a almost inexplicably good. And so those those three matches were all lost. Would it have been better if Keegan had played different people? Maybe. But they just got steamrolled. That’s again, going back to how we opened the conversation. That last point, absolutely gigantic for the Americans. If they have any hope to close the gap this afternoon. So when we talk about hope, what’s your feel and sense as we look forward to the afternoon session and move forward? Is it the sky is falling? Is it? Hey, we have a small, small chance. What needs to happen moving forward to change the tides of how it’s looking right now? Well, they need to take a deep breath and you’re sending out Scottie Scheffler JJ Spaun again. Best ball. You play your own ball against Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka. Straka and JJ sat in the morning round. Scottie Scheffler has got to be Scottie Scheffler. I mean he’s got to go out and and record. Listen, he led the PGA tour has for four years in a row most birdies per round. And he needs to go out today and show his stuff. And so that would give everybody just a shot of adrenaline. If world number one goes out and he and JJ play great and get a point right out of the gates. And then Ben Griffin, who’s been a bulldog all year Zach he won twice. Last ten events on the PGA tour finished no worse than 15th. And Ben Griffin a guy who I think can go and establish some momentum. He records a lot of birdies. So he’s with DeChambeau. They go against Fleetwood and Justin Rose. Cameron Young I thought should have played in the morning. They he Keegan Bradley sat Cameron Young the New York kid who loves Bethpage Black. Now he’s out in the afternoon with Justin Thomas. JT has got to play better. So you play him in back to back rounds in this opening day they go against Oberg and Hojgaard again. Hojgaard is the rookie. And then the last match of the day Sam Burns Patrick Cantlay against Rory and Shane. The two Irishmen playing together. It’s going to it’s going to be fun. But again Zach, I think you need to focus on the stars, right? Can Scotty be Scotty? Will Rory continue to play like he did in the morning, which was almost flawless? And how will some of the other rookies perform? That’s what’s going to happen this afternoon. It’s up to the rookies and it’s up to the stars. The stars got to be stars, Zach. It’s team competition. You need your quarterback to play great. You need your home run hitter to hit a home run. In this case you need Scottie Scheffler to record a big win right out of the gates to get the USA going. Yeah. So let’s say it’s 1225. You start off with a win for Scottie Scheffler and JJ Spaun because Scotty does Scotty like things. And Spaun of course a major champion this year. Where else on here does there need to be a win. Where is there a win for team USA to try to take off a little bit of that edge that Europe has? Well, again, the Scheffler match I think is is crucial and we’re putting a lot on Scotty shoulders. And JJ Spaun needs to go out and perform. He’s a rookie but again a great iron player which sets up well at Bethpage Black. Remember he’s the US open champion. So tough golf courses don’t seem to bother him. But I think that’s an important match. And then you come right back with Ben Griffin and Bryson DeChambeau again going with Tommy Fleetwood who’s had a phenomenal year. Played well this morning with Rory and he’s with his close friend Justin Rose. I mean they are super tight. So again, this is going to be very difficult for the Americans as things unfold. Cameron Young I thought it was a mistake sitting him in the morning. I thought he would have been a great pairing with Scottie Scheffler. Hits it a long way and Scheffler would have been going at those holes with wedges instead of maybe seven and six irons, but we’ll just have to see. And again, a guy like Justin Thomas did not perform well in the morning. JT has been there many, many times and he needs to step it up. Simply put, Justin Thomas, a two time major champion who earned his way on the Ryder Cup team. He needs to he needs to go out and play better today, there’s no doubt about it. And I think he would be the first to tell you. So, Zach, to answer your question again, it goes back to the guys, the established stars for the Americans. They need to make it happen. Because if you’re depending on these rookies like JJ Spaun and Ben Griffin, I think they’re capable and Cameron Young, but they’ve never been in the Ryder Cup before. And this vacuum, we saw it today. The pressure’s immense on these guys and they can get away from you in a hurry. Yeah. The crowd they can tell wants to get behind the Americans. They want reasons to share. They’re they’re booing every opportunity they get to Team Europe and want to cheer on team USA to victory. But not many opportunities to do that. And I’m curious what you think the thought process was for Luke Donald as he decided his pairings for Europe for the afternoon ball, because you see Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood just absolutely light it up, why not run it back for them again? And I know how good of friends and buddies and pals Rory and Shane Lowry are, but we just saw how they dominated things, so why not do that again? Why not drop back out? Oberg and Matt Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton to let them do it all over again. Does the score factor at all into the decisions from Luke Donald for why he chose to go this way? Zach, great question. Really a fabulous question. And you’re going inside the mind of the captain, who was so good two years ago, and now he’s trying to do something and it’s almost unheard of. Captain a winning team back to back in the Ryder Cup. But here was his decision right. He went with those guys in the morning because they’ve had success in that format. And now in the afternoon the euros feel and I think it’s pretty obvious they have better chemistry than the Americans. And again he’s going with friends. Fleetwood and Rose. Families are very close. They vacation together. They played in Ryder Cups together before. And then you go with the two Irishman, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, two guys who grew up together in Northern Ireland. I mean, they have a bond and chemistry is so important not just in golf but in team competition. And I think coming in, I dispelled that a little bit because I thought the New York crowd would just get under the skin of these guys, and they very well might. We have a long way to go. But again, you’re talking about experience. You’re talking about guys who know each other so very, very well. And when you’re comfortable on the golf course and you’ve been there before previous Ryder Cups. And that’s my guy. That’s my guy from England. That’s my guy from Ireland. We’re tight. Our families are tight. That goes a long way and I think they’re going to be tough to beat in the afternoon. Zach I think those two pairings are going to be tough to beat. Again. The Euro is bringing a lot to the table, and we need to emphasize 11 of the 12 guys who won two years ago. They’re back in the fold for Luke Donald. So maybe Luke Donald’s decisions weren’t as difficult as Keegan Bradley I think. I think we’re learning that right out of the gates. Yeah. So here we are with the Ryder Cup underway, the morning session just wrapping up over there at Bethpage Black. For those of you just joining us here a little bit past the 12:00 eastern hour here and the way things stand and started off for team USA. Not good at all. Europe leads three one after just complete domination in the first opening sessions here, especially with Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood taking care of Collin Morikawa and Harris, English winning five and four over and Matt Fitzpatrick over Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley five and three, and then Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton also getting the win there over Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas. The lone bright spot was Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, who were able to get that one point there, a crucial point for team USA to make it three one, and we’re here with Doug Bell as we get ready for the afternoon session to start off in about 15 minutes. And Doug, I ask you here as you just look at that screen that we showed of how things went in that morning session, what’s the biggest surprise for you? Because there certainly were a lot of folks who might thought that Team Europe would be able to come away with the Ryder Cup, and they still might, but at least they thought it would be close and competitive. And it did not look competitive coming out the gates. Yeah. Two thoughts Zach. You showed the scores four and three, five and three, five and four I mean that engulfed terms. That is a butt whooping. There’s no question about it. If you call that a football game it’d be getting beat like 52 to nothing. I mean they got whitewashed. So thank goodness Cantlay and Schauffele came from behind. Remember the euros took the lead early in that back nine. So that was absolutely gigantic for the Americans. And I think obviously for Patrick and Xander it gave them a lot of confidence too. But now moving forward we need to see where can we continue on the I say we can the USA continue the momentum. You kind of get caught up in patriotism, American. You can say, it’s all right, Doug. We we we it’s just fine. I’ll say we you can say we we’re all in it together. We get caught up in it. Zach. We really do. And what I hope for is a competitive Ryder Cup, and I want it to come down to the final matches on Sunday in the singles because again, coming in and I described it many times on CBS sports HQ. This was an epic Ryder Cup. We’d never had anything quite like this from a fan perspective. New York City, massive gallery, the New York crowd. I mean, we know how vocal and loud they can be. We thought that would be the big difference maker. And again, a visiting team hasn’t won since 2013in the Ryder Cup. I just thought the crowd would be the deciding factor in this Ryder Cup. And again, they very well might be. But Zach, we saw this morning the euros went out with a game plan. Let’s get off to a fast start and take the crowd out of the equation. And that’s exactly what happened. So the Americans need to get the crowd back into it. And we shall see in the afternoon. It’s a gorgeous day in New York City. They’re having a fly over. President Trump is there. The crowds are even bigger than they were this morning. So we’ll see if the New York crowd can help push the guys through here in the afternoon. Down three one. That’s still a big hill to climb. Yeah. The pitcher’s coming from New York. When you look at it you just see, wow this is a massive setting. The scene just looks electric. And they are ready and hoping that the Americans can get things done. But we’ve heard the Team Europe crowd make a sizable amount of noise, and they’re spurring on their fellow European teammates to hopefully do well. And you look at what Vegas has saying set right now Europe -130 to win it all the Americans at plus 120. You take in that money. If you’re trying to bet on the US to win it all. Or how do you feel as we sit right here, who’s going to win it all come Sunday? Well, listen, my money was on the Americans coming in and reason being was the crowd. And statistically, five of the best putters of the top 20 putters on the PGA tour were on the American team. Only two of the top 20 were on the European team, the Americans par four scoring. And at Bethpage, the par fours are very difficult. The Americans, one through 12 were way ahead in par four scoring compared to the euros. So analytically and statistically there were a lot of reasons to root and bet on the Americans. But again, you can’t dispel how close knit this team is. And golf is not a team sport, and the euros have worn that moniker on their sleeve for a long, long time. And I thought coming in, I thought that was overblown because all the guys on the team, except for Robert McIntyre, have a home in the United States. They’re Americanized. And even Rory said that, you know, my wife is American, my daughter’s American. I love America, but when it comes to this competition, this is the one they want to win most. And Zach, here’s the deal. I thought this was the telling statement of all. And Rory told me this many times this season. He’s told many others in press conferences, even though he won the Masters and completed the career Grand Slam, and that was a monumental win for him and his career. He said. Unless we win the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, it will not be a great season for me. I mean, think about that statement. This is how big it is for Rory and the European team. And I’m not so sure, Zach, the Americans are that passionate as the Europeans. Yeah. And I think we saw that on display this morning. Europe cares. We need America to care as much as they get there to tee it off for the afternoon session. Doug Bell, appreciate it. As we talk about the Ryder Cup and where things stand for team USA, and we look towards the afternoon four ball. And this is how it all looks right now with the U.S. down three one. They send out Scottie Scheffler and JJ Spaun. Everyone gets to play your own ball. You need Scottie to get it done. Ben Griffin and Bryson DeChambeau. Then Cam Young and Justin Thomas and finish off with Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay, who will tee off at 113 eastern. Do not forget that the early wedge is where you can catch even more golf talk 24 seven around the clock ways to find ways to make some money. Put some money in your pocket, scan that QR code and go ahead and listen and look. We might take a quick little break, but keep it tapped here to HQ because Emily Proud will slide in and she’ll have you covered from here. This is