Friday foursomes match-ups
Match 1, 7.10am (12.10pm Irish time): Bryson DeChambeau & Justin Thomas (USA) v Jon Rahm & Tyrrell Hatton (Europe)
Match 2, 7.26am (12.26pm Irish time): Scottie Scheffler & Russell Henley (USA) v Ludvig Aberg & Matt Fitzpatrick (Europe)
Match 3, 7.42am (12.42pm Irish time): Collin Morikawa & Harris English (USA) v Rory McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood (Europe)
Match 4, 7.58am (12.58pm Irish time): Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay (USA) v Robert MacIntyre & Viktor Hovland (Europe)
That’s all from me for tonight, thanks for following along.
We’ll be back tomorrow with live updates across the day, covering the morning foursomes session as well as the afternoon four-balls.
Until then, oíche mhaith.
Some interesting match-ups to kick off proceedings at Bethpage on Friday.
Philip Reid has had a look at the pairings and delivered his verdict: a winning morning for Team Europe.
Read his preview of tomorrow’s foursomes below:
[ Ryder Cup: Philip Reid previews Friday’s foursomesOpens in new window ]
So no room for Shane Lowry in Friday morning’s session. He’ll be hoping to get the nod for the afternoon four-ball session instead.
Joining him on the European bench is Rasmus Hojgaard, Justin Rose and Sepp Straka.
Sitting out the morning matches for USA is Sam Burns, Ben Griffin, JJ Spaun and Cameron Young.
First match (12.10pm Irish time): Jon Rahm & Tyrrell Hatton VS Bryson DeChambeau & Justin Thomas
Second match (12.26pm Irish time): Ludvig Aberg & Matt Fitzpatrick VS Scottie Scheffler & Russell Henley
Third match (12.42pm Irish time): Rory McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood VS Collin Morikawa & Harris English
Fourth match (12.58pm Irish time): Robert MacIntyre & Viktor Hovland VS Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay
Our captains have arrived. Some pleasantries before the announcement.
And we’re under way. Team Europe captain Luke Donald and USA captain Keegan Bradley will be with us shortly to break the news.
First, some suitably inspirational clips to get us in the mood.
There are four foursomes matches to be played on Friday, so the two captains this evening will each name eight players (four pairs) to take part.
And just an FYI, the pairings and tee times for Friday’s afternoon four-ball session will be confirmed after the conclusion of the morning foursomes session. But worry not, our live blog tomorrow will keep you posted on that front.
Playing away from home always presents an added challenge – an away Ryder Cup win is rather hard to come by – but this time around a lot has been made of the likely hostile crowd at Bethpage.
Another factor in all that is the visit of US president Donald Trump on Friday, with extra security measures put in place.
“The home crowd are a big part of what makes the Ryder Cup so special,” said Tommy Fleetwood earlier this week.
“I think that energy, that passion and that home team environment is something that plays such a big part in the Ryder Cup, and you have to embrace that, enjoy it, and look forward to it, even when you’re the away team.”
[ Europe prepared should feelgood atmosphere turn sour at BethpageOpens in new window ]
Fifteen minutes to the announcement.
While we wait:
For anyone not usually of a golfing persuasion (welcome to the Ryder Cup bandwagon, delighted to have you), one of Team USA’s players who may have caught your notice is Bryson DeChambeau.
He’s the lad who went viral on TikTok last year after setting himself the challenge of making a hole-in-one over his palatial, glass-fronted home.
His number of attempts each day corresponded to the day of the challenge he was on, so one shot on day one, two shots on day two, etc.
Spoiler, he succeeded with his 14th attempt on day 16. The whole thing was actually quite gripping.
“No hiding place, which is generally the way elite sportsmen want it,” Philip Reid writes from Bethpage.
“For the European team, two of whom are Irish, history beckons here in New York. Rory McIlroy will likely have a target on his back, certainly from the crowds but also from Team USA. Shane Lowry, for his part, is keen to add an away Ryder Cup win to his story.
“This is the Ryder Cup, the cauldron that defines team golf and bonds players together forever, giving memories that outweigh dreams.”
The selection process for the Ryder Cup teams is a bit of a rigmarole, with each team made up of six automatic qualifiers (based on results at PGA Tour, DP World Tour and majors events) and six captain’s picks or ‘wildcards’.
For Europe, the automatic qualifiers are Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Rasmus Højgaard and Tyrrell Hatton.
Europe captain Luke Donald then chose Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Åberg and Matt Fitzpatrick to complete his dozen.
Team USA’s automatic qualifiers are Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau, with captain Keegan Bradley adding wildcards Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns.
“All I want to do is put blue points on the board. I don’t care who it’s against,” says Rory McIlroy.
Well, we very much do care who it’s against, otherwise we wouldn’t be doing live updates for the announcement.
Have we any inkling over who is going to partner who? Well, Philip Reid is fairly sure our boy Rory will be renewing his partnership with England’s Tommy Fleetwood in the Friday morning session after the pair went two for two in the foursomes last time out in Rome.
“I think whoever gets to play with Rory this week, like what a privilege, what an amazing thing to be able to do, to stand next to him on the golf course and play alongside him,” Fleetwood said of the Masters champion, adding: “He’s one of, if not the, greatest players of our generation.”
What a gushing tribute.
[ Perfect pairings key if Europe are to retain Ryder CupOpens in new window ]
The Irish Times will be running a blog each day of the Ryder Cup.
Malachy Clerkin and David Gorman are on blogging duty, so they’ll be keeping you up to date on all the live action at Bethpage.
And of course, our golf man Philip Reid is in New York, so we’ll also have news, reports and reaction from him across the weekend.
Let’s take a look at our two teams. First, the hosts:
Team USA
Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, Ben Griffin, Russell Henley, Colin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, JJ Spaun, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Cameron Young
Captain: Keegan Bradley
Vice captains: Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson, Brandy Snedeker, Gary Woodland
And the visitors:
Team Europe
Ludvig Aberg (Sweden), Matt Fitzpatrick (England), Tommy Fleetwood (England), Tyrrell Hatton (England), Rasmus Hojgaard (Denmark), Viktor Hovland (Norway), Shane Lowry (Ireland), Robert MacIntyre (Scotland), Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Jon Rahm (Spain), Justin Rose (England), Sepp Straka (Austria)
Captain: Luke Donald
Vice captains: Edoardo Molinari, Thomas Bjorn, José María Olazábal, Francesco Molinari, Alex Noren
We may as well get the basics out of the way early: How does the Ryder Cup work?
It’s a match play format over three days with 28 points on offer. In the event of a 14-all draw, the reigning champions hold on to the cup.
Day one and two have foursomes matches in the morning and four-balls matches in the afternoon, each of which have two European players paired with two US players.
In the foursomes, the pairs alternate shots, so one ball for Europe being played by two players and the same for the US, and the lowest number of shots wins the hole. The four-balls see each of the four players in the group play their own round, lowest individual score wins the hole for their team. In both, level scores on a hole is a tie.
The pair to win the most holes in each match earns a point for their team and tied matches earn a half point apiece.
On day three, it’s head-to-heads. Each of the 24 players are drawn into European/US pairings to make 12 matches. Win your match, win a point for your team.
Of the 28 points, 12 are on offer on Sunday, with four up for grabs in each of the two foursomes and four-ball sessions.
David Gorman has sorted us out with a Ryder Cup guide, complete with TV details, who to watch out for and more, so give that a read below:
[ Ryder Cup 2025: Where is it, TV schedule and players to watchOpens in new window ]
Evening all. Welcome along to The Irish Times live blog for the announcement of the player pairings for the opening round of the 2025 Ryder Cup.
The tournament gets under way at Bethpage Black golf course in Long Island, New York tomorrow, continuing on Saturday before Sunday’s head-to-head finale.
Europe are the reigning champs, winning the 2023 edition 16½-11½ in Rome, but an away win hasn’t been achieved since the 2012 ‘Miracle in Medinah’, when José María Olazábal’s European charges triumphed in Illinois.
The player pairings and tee times for Friday’s foursomes matches will be announced at 9pm Irish time.
