Because neither PGA Tour nor DP World Tour golfers actually play the formats for the Ryder Cup except during the Presidents Cup, the Zurich Classic, or the Team Cup in Europe, it is always difficult to evaluate how well teams will mesh. And mesh the Americans certainly must if they are going to deliver points for the United States in the first two days of the event.
Even though this year's Ryder Cup promises to be exciting, there are some basics to know. The U.S., because they are the home team, gets to pick the order of the formats and has decided to go with alternate-shot first on both Friday and Saturday. It is otherwise known as foursomes. What can we draw from that? Not much, because in Monday’s practice round, they played better-ball. Are they trying to mess with us? Apparently.
What can we draw from teams of the past? A little at least. In bygone years, the U.S. usually won alternate-shot handily, but in recent years, that hasn’t been the case. So, prepare for a battle.
At the last Presidents Cup, Scottie Scheffler partnered with Russell Henley in alternate-shot. Expect that to happen again. But honestly, nobody knows who will pair with whom until captain Keegan Bradley turns in his Friday pairings on Thursday afternoon or evening. All we know for sure is they are starting with foursomes.
However, here are some likely partnerships. Expect Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele to be joined at the hip in alternate-shot and probably fourball if needed.
In the last Presidents Cup, Collin Morikawa partnered with Sam Burns in alternate-shot.
That leaves eight players to partner in golf’s hardest game. Call me crazy, but I don’t think it’s ever going to be Bryson DeChambeau’s strength. So, don’t look for him until the afternoons the first two days.
What happened on Monday was practice for prospective better-ball pairings. Remember, they aren’t doing this for laughs. They are practicing for team and country. The following groupings teed it up:
Group 1 -- Bryson Dechambeau, Ben Griffin, Justin Thomas, Cameron Young
DeChambeau was with Griffin, and Thomas was with Young. So, we might look for that Friday afternoon.
Group 2 -- Harris English, Russell Henley, Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun
In a surprise move, English was with Henley (two Georgia Bulldogs), and Scheffler was with Spaun. Now, Spaun is a Ryder Cup rookie, and even though he won the U.S. Open at Oakmont, he needs the comfort of a veteran, so that makes perfect sense. Last Presidents Cup, Scheffler was with Henley quite often.
Group 3 -- Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele
This was predictable: Burns and Morikawa; Cantlay and Schauffele. They have paired up before.
For best ball, we only need four good partnerships, and from those three groups, we are, as they say, spoilt for choice. But there are some general rules.
When it comes to pairings, captains don’t want to put a rookie with another rookie their first time out because, as all players will tell you, they are never more nervous in their life than on the first tee in the Ryder Cup. Johnny Pott, a Ryder Cupper from the 1960s, told me that in the early 1990s. Many others have repeated the same sentiment since.
It’s not that they have to tee off that makes them nervous. It’s when they are announced, “Now playing for the United States…” that does it. That's apparently when they can't breathe.
Also, they all have to conquer the nerves before the Sunday singles, and it’s easier to do that Friday and Saturday with a partner. No captain wants to put a rookie out on Sunday as his first match, but many times in the 1990s, Europe did that because more than anything, they wanted to win.
Now, who is going to be teamed up for the hardest format in golf, alternate-shot? Maybe Spaun and English. Or English and Griffin. All are fairly straight hitters, and in alternate-shot, it’s important to find the fairway as often as possible. The grueling style of play is a method of golf madness invented by a deranged human, no doubt a Scot whose kilt was bunched up.
However, there are other considerations. The alternate-shot format means that players alternate who tees off on each hole. Sometimes, they look at the par-3s and figure out who is best from certain distances, and that guy hits those tee shots. And then they figure out the strategy of the rest of the holes from there.
On par-3s, it’s tricky. At Bethpage Black, there are two on the front side and two on the back, and they are on both odd and even holes, so they have to consider who might be better with their par-3 irons from a certain distance. The par-3 holes are the 3rd and 8th on the front and the 14th and 17th on the back.
On par-4s, you’d want a good driver paired with someone who is great at approach shots.
For par-5s, the 4th and 13th are the only two on the course for Ryder Cup.
Johnson Wagner on Golf Channel gave some advice, and he should know because he won the Metropolitan Amateur and Metropolitan Open the same season, 2001, both at Bethpage Black.
Wagner said the 5th hole is absolutely the hardest tee shot. But he had some other suggestions as well.
“When I look at this golf course as a whole, I think players that draw the ball, right to left off the tee, those are going to be guys that play the even holes,” he explained. “The guys that fade it, I think the odd holes set up a lot better.”
The 13th, Wagner suggested, is the best chance for an eagle. The only exception are the three or four players who might be able to drive or nearly drive the green on No. 1. That would include DeChambeau and Young for the Americans and obviously Rory McIlroy for the Europeans.
“If we catch a downwind, we’ll see some guys going after it,” he added. “You’re not going to have the fireworks of a golf course with reachable par-5s.”
There will be bad bounces, annoying bunkers, putts that lip out, drives that go astray, and generally every annoyance most golfers face in any round. Meanwhile, thousands of people will be yelling.
In short, the 2025 Ryder Cup is going to be action-packed and riddled with screams and shouts from start to finish. It may not be the most polite Ryder Cup we have ever seen, but it’s bound to be the loudest.