By Frank Pingue
FARMINGDALE, New York (Reuters) -Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas will launch the Americans’ bid to reclaim the Ryder Cup against Europe’s Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton in Friday’s opening foursomes match at Bethpage Black, the respective team captains announced on Thursday.
The opening match of the biennial team competition will begin at 7:10 a.m. ET (1110 GMT) on Friday at Bethpage Black, where heightened security measures will be in place given the expected arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Twice U.S. Open champion DeChambeau is easily one of golf’s most popular players and ability to whip a crowd into a frenzy surely played into the decision to send him out first with two-times PGA Championship winner Thomas.
“Besides the fact that they’re both phenomenal players, they bring a spark to our team,” said U.S. captain Keegan Bradley.
“Bryson has been an incredible teammate in the locker room, and we really want him to lead our team out with Justin on the first match.”
The next match will feature world number one Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley against Swede Ludvig Aberg and Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick before Collin Morikawa and Harris English face Europe’s Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, a duo dubbed Fleetwood Mac.
The morning lineup will be capped by a clash between Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay against Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and Norwegian Viktor Hovland.
History favors the Americans when the current setup is in play: the U.S. own a 9-3-1 record in Ryder Cups where foursomes have led off play on both Friday and Saturday.
Also, each of the last five Ryder Cups, dating back to 2014 at Gleneagles, have been won by the home side, matching the longest such streak of its kind.
“We understand how difficult it is to win away but we have done it, we’ve done it four times … and we will certainly draw on those experiences,” said Europe captain Luke Donald.
“We are not coming in here with any complacency, we understand the task at hand.”
Donald is bidding to become the first captain to win back-to-back editions of the Ryder Cup since Tony Jacklin in the 1980s, while Bradley will be hoping his decision not to take on a dual role as player-captain proves correct.
Europe have won 10 of the last 14 Ryder Cups dating back to 1995 but come into the week as underdogs against a U.S. squad eager to reclaim the trophy on home soil.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue; Additional reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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