The longest wait in golf is over.
The Ryder Cup begins on Sept. 26 at the Bethpage State Park Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. The teams are set, practice-session pairings have been analyzed to the nth degree, uniform combinations critiqued, banquets and opening ceremonies are other and it’s not time for the most intense three days in the sport on a worldwide level.
Captains Keegan Bradley of the U.S. and Luke Donald of Europe have used analytics and statistics to form their pairings, but have also no doubt listened to the personal preferences of their players and their own gut.
Here’s what they came up with for the first doubles session, which will be foursomes (or alternate shot, with the partners taking turns hitting shots on each hole until the ball is holed or the hole is conceded).
The pairings were first announced by the captains live on Golf Channel shortly afte 4 p.m. on Sept. 25. Usually they’re announced by the captains during the opening ceremony on the eve of the first day but because of the weather, the ceremony was moved to Wednesday.
Ryder Cup Friday morning foursomes, tee times
7:10 a.m.: Bryson DeChambeau-Justin Thomas (US) vs. Jon Rahm-Tyrrell Hatton (Europe).
7:26 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler-Russell Henley (US) vs. Ludvig Åberg-Matt Fitzpatrick (Europe).
7:42 a.m.: Collin Morikawa-Harris English (US) vs. Rory McIlroy-Tommy Fleetwood (Europe).
7:58 a.m.: Xander Schauffele-Patrick Cantlay (US) vs. Viktor Hovland-Robert MacIntyre (Europe).
Who’s sitting out in the first Ryder Cup session?
Each team can play eight players per double session, which means four players will be sitting out.
For the U.S., Ben Griffin, J.J. Spaun, Cameron Young and Sam Burns will not play in the first session.
For Europe, Shane Lowry, Rasmus Höjgaard, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka are sitting out.
What are the Ryder Cup Friday afternoon tee times?
The fourball matches, in which the best score of each partner is counted to the team score, will be 12:25 p.m., 12:41 p.m., 12:57 p.m., 1:13 p.m. Times could change based on the weather or how long the morning doubles matches lasted.
What are the Ryder Cup Saturday tee times?
Foursomes matches (alternate shot)
7:10 a.m., 7:26 a.m., 7:42 a.m., 7:58 a.m.
Fourball matches (best score of each player)
12:25 p.m., 12:41 p.m., 12:57 p.m., 1:13 p.m.
What are the Ryder Cup singles tee times on Sunday?
Matches will begin just after noon and will start at 11-minute intervals.
The starting times are 12:02 p.m., 12:13 p.m., 12:24 p.m., 12:35 p.m., 12:46 p.m., 12:57 p.m., 1:08 p.m., 1:19 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 1:41 p.m., 1:52 p.m., 2:03 p.m.
How to watch the Ryder Cup
Friday, Sept. 26
USA, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 27
NBC, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 28
NBC, 12-6 p.m.
Watch the Ryder Cup with a free trial at Fubo
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Ryder Cup pairings are out for Friday morning. Who’s facing off at Bethpage Black?
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
