Rahm leads Europe to commanding lead after Day 1 at Ryder Cup

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Sepp Straka admittedly didn’t have his best stuff in his European Ryder Cup debut Friday afternoon.

It doesn’t matter when you’re Jon Rahm’s Fourballs partner.

Rahm capped a dominant performance across both sessions as he and Straka defeated World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and reigning U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun 3 & 2 in the first Fourballs match at Bethpage Black. Earlier in the morning, Rahm and his Legion XIII teammate Tyrrell Hatton won the opening Foursomes match of the biennial event over fellow LIV Golf player Bryson DeChambeau and his partner, Justin Thomas, 4 & 3.

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DeChambeau, captain of Crushers GC, followed that loss with another one with partner Ben Griffin in Fourballs, as the English duo of Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose won 1 up.

With Rahm leading the way as the day’s best performer, Europe took a big step toward a rare road Ryder Cup victory, taking a 5.5 to 2.5 points lead over a U.S. team that will need a big rally on Saturday.

Rahm’s two wins Friday improved his career Ryder Cup record to 8-3-3. He’s undefeated in his last nine pairings matches (7-0-2) and is 8-1-3 since beating Tiger Woods in Sunday Singles in his first Ryder Cup appearance in 2018.

The last player on either side to have one or zero losses over a span of 12 Ryder Cup matches is another LIV Golf player, Majesticks GC Co-Captain Ian Poulter, who went 11-1-0 from 2008-12.

“I can’t take the credit, all of it,” Rahm said of his pairs record. “… It’s a team. I’ve been fortunate to have really good teammates.”

Straka did deliver early when he chipped in for birdie on the second hole after Spaun had given the U.S. the lead with an opening birdie. From there, Rahm took over.

He rolled in a 16-1/2 foot birdie putt to win the third hole and grab the lead. At the par-3 8th, he drilled a 17-footer as Europe went 2 up. And then at the par-4 11th, his 9-foot birdie putt made it 3 up.

Scheffler, struggling all day, finally showed some life when he made a 22-foot birdie putt at the 15th. But Rahm quickly followed with his own 20-footer to halve the hole and quell any American momentum.

“To have Jon today was great because I did not have my game, and especially for the first little bit,” Straka said. “… Jon played incredible.”

DeChambeau didn’t reach that level, but he fought hard to keep he and Griffin in the match. He opened with a birdie to halve the hole, then made birdie from 13 feet at the par-4 fifth to go 1-up.

But the American duo wouldn’t win another hole until DeChambeau birdied the par-3 17th following a great tee shot. Meanwhile, Fleetwood made three birdies on the back nine that proved to be the difference.

"Experience was great," DeChambeau said. "0-2 today, pretty disappointed. I played good golf, just not good enough, and they made everything. Luck is on their side right now."

DAY 1 FOURBALLS RESULTS

• Rahm/Straka (Europe) def. Scheffler/Spaun (USA), 3 & 2
• Fleetwood/Rose (Europe) def. DeChambeau/Griffin (USA), 1 up
• Young/Thomas (USA) def. Aberg/Hojgaard (Europe), 6 & 5
• Burns/Cantley (USA) halved with McIlroy/Lowry (Europe)

MORNING FOURSOMES RECAP

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – European teammates Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton showed why they remain one of golf’s most lethal partnerships, beating the USA’s Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas, 4 & 3, in the opening Foursomes match Friday at the Ryder Cup.

It was a match involving all three LIV Golf players competing this week at Bethpage Black. Rahm and Hatton, the league’s best 1-2 punch, led their Legion XIII team to the LIV Golf Team Championship last month in Michigan, beating Crushers GC DeChambeau and Paul Casey in a playoff.

On Friday, they dealt DeChambeau another loss while posting the first of Europe’s three convincing match wins in the morning session.

Rahm and Hatton have now won their last three Foursomes matches going back to the 2023 Ryder Cup. Rahm remained perfect in Foursomes play with a career 5-0-0 record, while Hatton is now 3-1-0 in that format.

Each player took turns providing key shots during the final nine holes of the match, a stretch in which the Europeans won five holes, three of those with birdies, to overcome an early deficit after the Americans – fueled by the partisan crowd at sunrise – won the opening hole.

“We were aware it was going to be a tough day,” Rahm said. “Two of their better favorites up there, two of the crowd favorites. We knew the crowd was going to be loud, and well, we are going to need our best. And even though we didn't have our best start during the first seven holes, we battled, we stayed in it and from then on, we started hitting good shots and getting really positive vibes.”

Rahm’s approach out of the fescue after an errant drive from Hatton at the par-4 sixth was a key momentum shift. It appeared the Americans were on the verge of winning the hole and building on their lead but had to settle for a halve with pars.

On the next hole, Hatton and Rahm switched roles, with Hatton delivering a clutch shot from a tricky lie next to a stick after Rahm’s errant tee shot near the trees. They saved par and won the hole to square the match after Thomas missed a short par putt.

“The second shot into 7 is a little bit of a hit-and-hope,” Hatton said. “Thankfully it kind of went straight. We're fortunate to have a clean sort of line. Just hope the stick wouldn't affect it too much.”

Hatton followed with a terrific tee shot at the par-3 eighth to set up Rahm’s winning 12-foot birdie putt to take the lead.

Hatton then rolled in consecutive birdie putts from 20 feet at the par-4 12th and 8 feet at the par-5 13th as Europe took command of the match.

“Yeah, really happy with how we dug in,” Hatton said. “We knew it was going to be a difficult start, and obviously the atmosphere was pretty intense, but it was good fun.”

Said Rahm of Hatton: “This man is a joy to be partnered with. We spend a lot of time together and he can be very, very dependable when things get going difficult. I have full confidence every single time, and just glad we were able to get it done.”

The Americans were derailed all morning by Thomas’ cold putter and the match fittingly ended with him missing a 5-foot par putt at the 15th. Their only bright spot was the opening hole in which DeChambeau nearly drove the par-4 first with a 344-yard drive, then delivered the birdie putt from 15-1/2 feet. It was the only hole the U.S. team won in the match.

DAY 1 FOURSOMES

• Rahm/Hatton (Europe) def. DeChambeau/Thomas (USA), 4 & 3

• Aberg/Fitzpatrick (Europe) def. Scheffler/Henley (USA), 5 & 3

• McIlroy/Fleetwood (Europe) def. Morikawa/English (USA), 5 & 4

• Schauffele/Cantlay (USA) def. MacIntyre/Hovland (Europe), 2 up