Friday Morning Ryder Cup Foursomes Picks: Can Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas Lead Off With Win?

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — We hear it all the time in professional sports, whether it’s a pregame show roundtable discussion or a game analyst throwing to a play-by-play host.

“It’s imperative that [team] gets off to a hot start.”

This is the type of comment that sounds right just minutes before the contest begins. It helps explain the emotion of those about to compete; it gets the viewer pumped to watch it unfold.

And yet, it often doesn’t ring true.

While it’s always beneficial to get ahead early, it’s way more advantageous to finish strong, closing things out when it means the most.

That’s not necessarily the case at this week’s Ryder Cup.

As I’ve written and spoken about multiple times this week, it’s easy to connect the dots to success in the last five editions of this event.

As you might’ve heard, the home side has won these last five – in dominant fashion every time, with an average winning margin of 6.6 points.

Not coincidentally, the home team has also dominated the foursomes sessions during this time, by a measure of 31½-8½.

And for the fourth time since 2014, the Ryder Cup will begin Friday with that very alternate-shot format.

All of which means this: “It’s imperative that [team] gets off to a hot start.”

For the U.S., it means trying to keep this trend intact by grabbing the early momentum and sending these New York crowds into an absolute frenzy.

For Europe, it means attempting to reverse everything we’ve seen in recent years, asserting itself as the early frontrunner and quieting the home folks.

Well, now that the pairings have – finally! – been announced and we’re – finally! – going to see some golf that actually matters, let’s break down the Friday morning foursomes matches, one by one.

Match 1

Bryson DeChambeau/Justin Thomas (USA) vs. Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton (EUR)

Look, there are going to be plenty of fireworks this weekend, so it’s probably better off that we just slowly ease our way into this. Hahaha. I’m just kidding, y’all. As if the massive first-tee build-out wasn’t already going to be bonkers with the first balls in the air at 7:10 a.m., we’ve got the two most excitable, emotional, combustible personalities on each team battling in what should be a heavyweight title bout. Rahm and Hatton, teammates on Legion XIII in LIV Golf, went 2-0-0 in the foursomes sessions two years ago in Rome and I’m a big believer that experience – especially with a specific partner – can be a big advantage in this format. Everything is telling me that the Europeans should be the right side in this one, as DeChambeau and Thomas can each get a little loose when they play too aggressively, but I just think the wave of red, white and blue carries the fiery Americans to victory in a very, very, very close match – one which might still be going after a few behind them have already ended.

The pick: USA (-150)

Match 2

Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley (USA) vs. Ludvig Aberg/Matt Fitzpatrick (EUR)

Allow me to shout this one final time from the highest point at Bethpage State Park: The U.S. team will go as far as Scheffler takes it. If he goes 0-2-2, as he did in Rome, this thing might be a road rout, like 2004 all over again. Spoiler alert: I don’t think he’s going 0-2-2. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if Scottie does what he’s done all year, using that unique footwork to step on the throats of everyone he’s playing against. We’ll see if Henley gets the call alongside the world No. 1 in afternoon four-ball (I’d put it at better than 50/50 that he does), but he might be the perfect partner for Scheffler in this format – a guy who hits fairways and greens and tends to be a streaky putter. On the contrary, Aberg and Fitz seem like a bit of a mismatched pair and certainly didn’t get any favors in this draw.

The pick: USA (-150)

Match 3

Collin Morikawa/Harris English (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood (EUR)

Lest you thought blind patriotism was going to have me picking American duos across the board, this one feels like a massive advantage for the Europeans. Like Rahm and Hatton, McIlroy and Fleetwood were also 2-0-0 in this format two years ago; unlike Rahm and Hatton, McIlroy and Fleetwood drew a favorable opponent here. I actually think Morikawa will pleasantly surprise some people, as he’s clearly been in the worst form of any U.S. player over the past six months. Maybe if they’d gone out second instead of third, the Aberg/Fitzpatrick matchup might’ve been more winnable. Everything about this one points toward Europe, however, though I will offer this note: If Morikawa and English do somehow win this match, that’s a massive momentum shifter for the U.S. side.

The pick: Europe (-165)

Match 4

Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay (USA) vs. Viktor Hovland/Robert MacIntyre (EUR)

There have been conflicting reports on Hovland this week, from “He looks completely lost” to “He looks like he’s found something” – and quite honestly, both might be true. On a course which could come down to which team hits their 6-, 7- and 8-irons better than the other guys, Hovland’s mid-iron game should flourish. I’m very intrigued by Bobby Mac this week. He’s matured as a player since his Ryder Cup debut two years ago, having won twice on the PGA Tour, but one of those wins came at the RBC Canadian Open, where he constantly complained about drones flying overhead. Bethpage is no place to have rabbit ears and I think it’s fair to wonder whether these New York fans can get inside his head. As for the American side, Schauffele and Cantlay have played a whopping nine foursomes matches in Ryder/Presidents Cup history, posting an impressive 6-3-0 record. Much like the first match, all signs point to one side and yet I’ve got a little hunch on the ‘dogs here. In another very close one, I like the plus-money side to square things up going into the afternoon.

The pick: Europe +120