Jon Rahm will begin Team Europe’s quest to win the Ryder Cup on home soil along with Tyrrell Hatton in the opening pairing of the foursomes in Rome on Friday.
And captain Luke Donald has opted to blood two rookies in the opening session with Ludvig Aberg, who only made his professional debut in June, and Sepp Straka among the other players to tee off in the morning.
Of the four left out, their captain said he expected all to play in the four-balls in the second session on Friday.
The duo of Rahm and Hatton, dubbed ‘Team Angry’ in some quarters because of their feisty personalities, will start the event at 6:35am UK time against world No1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, who has had the letters ‘USA’ shaved into the side of his head for the three-day event.
Donald dubbed them the perfect pair for the hosts. He said: “They’re both world-class players, both fantastic ball-strikers. Jon feeds off a playing partner with serious fire and passion.
“He wants to feel like he’s out with a team-mate really engaged with him. Tyrrell really fits that bill. The Ryder Cup means a lot to both of those. Their personalities match up, the statistics point to a strong partnership.”
The second match sees the untried and untested Aberg, dubbed “a generational talent” by Donald, making his debut alongside Viktor Hovland, arguably the world’s most in-form player currently, against Max Homa and Open champion Brian Harman.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry, whose selection by Donald was queried by some, partners another rookie in Austrian Straka in the third match-up against Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa.
And Donald said he was confident that despite their inexperience, both Aberg and Straka would shine. He added: “I’m impressed with both of these players. Ludvig is the No1 driver in all of golf in the few tournaments he’s played. Sepp’s a very consistent ball-striker. It feels like his game’s in great shape.”
And the fourth and final match will see Rory McIlroy join forces with Tommy Fleetwood against established American duo Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
Of the established American pairs, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, close friends who have been a formidable partnership in past cups, were perhaps the surprise omission from Friday morning’s lineup.
