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Ryder Cup 2018: Saturday morning four-ball pairings, no changes for USA
After the Friday sessions at the 2018 Ryder Cup, Team USA trails the Europeans 5-3; that means the United States needs 11 more points to retain the Ryder Cup, while the Europeans need 9.5 to earn it back.
Related: Full recap from Day 1 of the 2018 Ryder Cup
The U.S. squad jumped out to an early 3-1 lead after the fourballs (best ball) matches in the morning — the only loss coming from the Tiger Woods/Patrick Reed pairing — but the team proceeded to get swept in the afternoon foursomes (alternate shot) sessions. The United States has been historically inferior to the Europeans in that format, but losing 4-0 in the four-ball session was a first in Ryder Cup history.
Looking forward to Saturday, it was interesting to see the adjustments that both teams would make in the morning fourballs matches. Would U.S. Captain Jim Furyk do anything different in fourballs after winning 3-1? Or would adjustments be reserved for the afternoon foursomes matches? And on the flipside, how would Euro Captain Thomas Bjorn respond?
We now have answers to the morning session matchups (remember 8:10 Paris time is 2:10 a.m. eastern time):
As a reminder, here were the Friday morning fourballs matchups, after which Team USA took a 3-1 lead.
So the only difference for the United States is that Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth are now the anchor group, teeing off last, and Tiger/Reed have switched into the second-to-last group, although Reed and Tiger will still go up against what proved to be a dangerous pairing in Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari.
The European side, on the other hand, have made a number of changes. Sergio Garcia, coming off a one-sided 5&4 foursomes victory against Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau Friday afternoon alongside Alex Noren, will team up with Rory McIlroy, who struggled greatly in his morning fourballs match on Friday. Justin Rose was moved to the bench (after going 1-1 on Friday), and Ian Poulter will take his place alongside Jon Rahm. Thorbjorn Olesen will also sit the morning session out.
Certainly, the United States needs to have a dominate morning fourballs session to make it a match. If the 2-point European lead stretches at all going into the afternoon foursomes matches, the U.S. could be in trouble.
What do you think about the adjustments, or lack thereof, by Captain Furyk? Do we still like the Tiger Woods-Patrick Reed pairing despite losing 2&1 in the same format on Friday? What changes would you like to see in the afternoon foursomes pairings by Furyk?
See what GolfWRX Members are saying about the 2018 Ryder Cup in our forums
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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