Rory McIlroy partners Tommy Fleetwood again but this time leads out an unchanged European foursomes line-up on Saturday morning; they’ll face American pair Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the opening match; Watch day two live on Saturday from 6am ahead of first tee shot at 6.35am
Last Updated: 29/09/23 7:16pm
Team Europe’s Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood celebrate after winning their foursomes match on day one
Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood will lead an unchanged European foursomes line-up out on Saturday morning, facing US pair Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the opening match.
Luke Donald has elected to stick with the same pairings who won all four matches in Friday’s foursomes at Marco Simone GC, the first time in Ryder Cup history Europe have swept the opening session, which helped the hosts move into a commanding 6.5-1.5 advantage.
McIlroy, who won both his matches on Friday, will once again partner Fleetwood – having claimed a 2&1 victory on the opening morning.
Masters champion Jon Rahm partners Tyrrell Hatton again in the final pairing, with the only switch from Europe’s historic 4-0 foursomes win on Friday morning seeing the first and last pairs switched.
More to follow…
Friday foursomes matches (all BST)
0635 Rory McIlroy (NIrl) and Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) vs Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth
0650 Viktor Hovland (Nor) and Ludvig Åberg (Swe) vs Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka
0705 Shane Lowry (Irl) and Sepp Straka (Aut) vs Max Homa and Brian Harman
0720 Jon Rahm (Spal) and Tyrell Hatton (Eng) vs Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay
Donald: We’ll never underestimate the US
Team Europe captain Luke Donald: “I’m incredibly proud. What they did, getting us off to a 4-0 start, is unheard of against this strong American team.
“It was tough this afternoon, really hard going… we showed so much grit and determination to turn it around.
“We’ll never do that [underestimate the US]. They’re too strong. We saw that two years ago [at Whistling Straits].
“Each day it’s about trying to win the next session.”
Team USA captain Zach Johnson: “I’m very confident in my eight. All these guys I have on my side, I know they’re up against a very bona fide opponent, all eight of ours versus all eight of theirs.
Obviously we’re very confident in putting Scottie [Scheffler] and Sam [Burns] out. You’ve got some experience in there, and you’ve got some chemistry in there as well. Those guys want to get after it, and I’m confident that they can do that.”
What happens next?
The Saturday fourballs action is then set to begin at 12.25pm (11.25am BST), although it could be pushed back slightly, with 15 minutes between each match and the final game beginning at 1.10pm (12.10pm BST). All 24 players will then be involved in the Sunday singles, with the opening match starting at 11.35am in Italy (10.35am BST).
Ryder Cup 2023 tee times
Day 2 (Saturday) – 4 Fourballs
- 12.25pm Fourball (Match 13)
- 12.40pm Fourball (Match 14)
- 12.55pm Fourball (Match 15)
- 1.10pm Fourball (Match 16)
Day 3 (Sunday) – 12 Singles
- Match 17 tees off at 10.35am with players teeing off every 12 minutes.
Who will win the 2023 Ryder Cup? Watch exclusively live this week on Sky Sports! Live coverage from day two begins on Saturday from 6am, ahead of the first tee time at 6.35am. Stream the Ryder Cup and more for £21 a month for six months with NOW.