The opening four-ball session for the 40th Ryder Cup will take place on Friday morning in Gleneagles, Scotland, on the PGA Centenary course. Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson will face Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson in the first matchup of the biennial event.
U.S. captain Tom Watson and European captain Paul McGinley announced their pairings for Friday's early four-ball session. Those who will not be participating include Hunter Mahan, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Jim Furyk for the United States, while Graeme McDowell, Victor Dubuisson, Lee Westwood and Jamie Donaldson will sit out for the Europeans. Watson and Simpson remain confident in their abilities to lead off for their country, and said so at the Opening Ceremony on Thursday.
"We love leading off," said Simpson, in this ESPN article. "We love getting off to a quick start, and it should be a good pairing for us against Rose and Stenson. They're obviously great players. We have to go out and take care of business early."
"We saw in 2012 that obviously a hot start is not the key; it's about finishing," added Watson. "Obviously, a hot start is better than not having a hot start. It's better for morale and better for everything like that."
Here is the list of the Friday matchups for the four-ball session:
7:35 a.m. local time (2:35 a.m. EST)
Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson (USA) vs. Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson (EUR)
7:50 a.m. (2:50 a.m. EST)
Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker (USA) vs. Thomas Bjorn and Martin Kaymer (EUR)
8:05 a.m. (3:05 a.m. EST)
Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed (USA) vs. Ian Poulter and Stephen Gallacher (EUR)
8:20 a.m. (3:20 a.m. EST)
Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia (EUR)
Many were surprised with Watson pairing Spieth and Reed because they're both Ryder Cup rookies, but the U.S. captain defended his choice and thinks they'll be great together.
"You would like to get them to play all 18 holes, play their own ball and get them out that way. That's the reason I put the two rookies out together," he said in this GolfChannel.com article. "They have been playing some practice rounds together and doing very well."
The afternoon alternate shot session will begin at 1:15 p.m. (8:15 a.m. EST) and the other foursomes will tee off at 1:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. EST), 1:45 p.m. (8:45 a.m. EST) and 2:00 p.m. (9:00 a.m. EST). For the U.S., it's likely Zach Johnson pairs up with Hunter Mahan and Jim Furyk will be with Matt Kuchar.
The Golf Channel will televise tomorrow's events from 2:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
