The Ryder Cup is finally here. After days of pomp and circumstance, the matches get underway from France at 8:10 a.m. local time Friday. The United States brought the Cup with it across the Atlantic after a dominant victory two years ago at Hazeltine. The visitors will have to buck a trend if they want to take the trophy back home, though. The U.S. hasn’t won on foreign soil since 1993. It’s also been a quarter-century since the U.S. scored back-to-back wins in the Ryder Cup. This young American team arrives in France on a three-year winning streak that dates back to the 2015 Presidents Cup. The U.S. team beat those three opponents by a whopping 51.5-36.5 margin. The U.S. will have its hands full with the home team, though. Le Golf National is an annual stop on the European Tour, giving Team Europe a marked home-course advantage. The last two French Opens at Le Golf National were won by members of this year’s team. The course emphasizes accuracy over distance, negating the United States’ power advantage. All of those statistics and history go out the window once Friday’s morning Four-Balls session gets underway, though. Pairings/matchups: Friday morning Four-Balls session Brooks Koepka-Tony Finau (USA) vs. Justin Rose-Jon Rahm (Europe), 2:10 a.m. ET The FedExCup champion will square off against the likely PGA TOUR Player of the Year in the opening match of the Ryder Cup. They’ll each be joined by a rookie in this Four-Ball match. Rose and Rahm rank second and third on TOUR in birdie average, respectively. Koepka and Finau both rank in the top 11 of that statistic, as well. Brooks Koepka FedExCup ranking: 9 Ryder Cup record: 3-1-0 Four-Balls: 1-1-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 9th Strokes Gained: Approach: 93rd Strokes Gained: Putting: 113th Tony Finau FedExCup ranking: 6 Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 19th Strokes Gained: Approach: 24th Strokes Gained: Putting: 65th Justin Rose FedExCup: 1 Ryder Cup Record: 11-6-2 Four-Balls: 4-3-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 14th Strokes Gained: Approach: 29th Strokes Gained: Putting: 17th Jon Rahm FedExCup: 23 Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 3rd Strokes Gained: Approach: 80th Strokes Gained: Putting: 135th Dustin Johnson-Rickie Fowler (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy-Thorbjorn Olesen (Europe), 2:25 a.m. ET Johnson leads the PGA TOUR in birdie average (4.7). The No. 1 player in the world ranking heads a strong team that is looking to turn around its fortunes in this format. Johnson and Fowler are a combined 2-5-2 in this format. McIlroy will be responsible to take pressure off Olesen, the only rookie in this match. Dustin Johnson FedExCup ranking: 4 Ryder Cup record: 6-5-0 Four-Balls: 2-4-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 1st Strokes Gained: Approach: 5th Strokes Gained: Putting: 30th Rickie Fowler FedExCup ranking: 17 Ryder Cup record: 2-4-5 Four-Balls: 0-1-2 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 52nd Strokes Gained: Approach: 30th Strokes Gained: Putting: 40th Rory McIlroy FedExCup: 13 Ryder Cup Record: 9-6-4 Four-Balls: 3-2-2 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 6th Strokes Gained: Approach: 50th Strokes Gained: Putting: 85th Thorbjorn Olesen FedExCup: NR Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: +0.13 Strokes Gained: Approach: +0.35 Strokes Gained: Putting: +0.33 * – didn’t play enough rounds to be ranked in PGA TOUR statistics Jordan Spieth-Justin Thomas (USA) vs. Paul Casey-Tyrrell Hatton (Europe), 2:40 a.m. ET The good friends first represented the United States in France when they were 14. Now they’re doing it at the Ryder Cup. Thomas will have the comfort of making his Ryder Cup debut with Spieth by his side. Thomas performed admirably in his first professional team competition, going 3-1 at last year’s Presidents Cup. The European side also features one veteran, Casey, and a rookie in Hatton. Jordan Spieth FedExCup: 31 Ryder Cup Record: 4-3-2 Four-Balls: 3-1-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 54th Strokes Gained: Approach: 26th Strokes Gained: Putting: 136th Justin Thomas FedExCup: 7 Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 30th Strokes Gained: Approach: 3rd Strokes Gained: Putting: 44th Paul Casey FedExCup: 25 Ryder Cup Record: 3-2-4 Four-Balls: 1-0-3 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 77th Strokes Gained: Approach: 13th Strokes Gained: Putting: 89th Tyrrell Hatton FedExCup: 54 Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 73rd Strokes Gained: Approach: 77th Strokes Gained: Putting: 47th Patrick Reed-Tiger Woods (USA) vs. Francesco Molinari-Tommy Fleetwood (Europe), 2:55 a.m. ET They both wear red and black. They’re both Masters champions. And they will carry the anchor for the United States team in the opening session. The Ryder Cup brings out Reed’s best. Now he gets to play alongside his idol, who is coming off a win in the TOUR Championship. They’ll face a European side that has had much success at Le Golf National. Fleetwood won the 2017 French Open here, while Molinari has twice been a runner-up at Le Golf National. Patrick Reed FedExCup: 22 Ryder Cup Record: 6-1-2 Four-Balls: 3-1-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 107th Strokes Gained: Approach: 84th Strokes Gained: Putting: 76th Tiger Woods FedExCup: 2 Ryder Cup Record: 13-17-3 Four-Balls: 5-8-0 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 104th Strokes Gained: Approach: 1st Strokes Gained: Putting: 39th Francesco Molinari FedExCup: 17 Ryder Cup Record: 0-3-2 Four-Balls: 0-1-1 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 7th Strokes Gained: Approach: 12th Strokes Gained: Putting: 181st Tommy Fleetwood FedExCup: 19 Rookie Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee: 17th Strokes Gained: Approach: 49th Strokes Gained: Putting: 50th
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