It was a wild day in Wisconsin, one where the home team rode the momentum to a large lead. The United States leads the Ryder Cup, 6-2, after the opening day. According to Justin Ray of Twenty First Group, this is the United States’ largest lead after the opening day since 1977, the last Ryder Cup before continental Europe was added to the mix. The Elias Sports Bureau said this is the seventh time that a team has earned six or more points on Day 1. The only time that a team failed to win the Ryder Cup after earning six or more points on Day 1 was in 1999 at The Country Club, where the U.S. mounted a historic comeback.
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There are still 20 points remaining, however. Can the United States continue its momentum? Can Europe claw its way back? We’ll have to wait and see.
The U.S. stuck with the tried and true, rolling out the same four teams that went 3-1 in Friday’s Foursomes sessions. “it went so well this morning that I figured why mess things up and change things up at all?” said U.S. Captain Steve Stricker. The biggest news from the European side is that Rory McIlroy is sitting out a session for the first time in his career. He went 0-2 on Friday, with both his matches ending after 15 holes.
Until then, let’s look at the pairings for Saturday morning’s Foursomes matches. The United States won Friday’s Foursomes session, 3-1. A repeat performance could put the Cup out of reach, but Europe typically excels in this format.
Here’s are Saturday’s four Foursomes matches, with previews below:
8:05 a.m. ET: Brooks Koepka/Daniel Berger vs. Jon Rahm/Sergio Garcia
8:21 a.m. ET: Dustin Johnson/Collin Morikawa vs. Paul Casey/Tyrrell Hatton
8:37 a.m. ET: Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth vs. Viktor Hovland/Bernd Wiesberger
8:53 a.m. ET: Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay vs. Lee Westwood/Matt Fitzpatrick
