Why Friday’s Opening Session Could Shape the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black

The Ryder Cup is almost here, and while the drama of Sunday singles usually steals the headlines, there’s a strong argument that the real story of this year’s event will be told much earlier – on Friday morning at Bethpage Black.

Ryder Cup Friday Opening Session Holds the Key

We won’t know the exact pairings until Thursday night, but we already know that Friday’s opening session could set the tone for the entire 45th Ryder Cup. U.S. captain Keegan Bradley has decided to stick with the tried-and-tested strategy of starting their home Ryder Cup with alternate shot foursomes – a format that has proven to be a pretty reliable indicator of who will end up lifting the trophy.

Foursomes is the most unforgiving format in golf. One bad swing can sink both partners, and there’s no place to hide. Think back to Oakland Hills in 2004, when Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson – uneasy partners at best – kept finding trouble and staring daggers at each other. Foursomes doesn’t just test skill, it tests trust, temperament, and team chemistry.

That’s why captains and players put so much weight on that first session. Get it right, and you can seize control early. Get it wrong, and you’re suddenly chasing momentum in one of the most intense environments golf can offer.

Europe’s Lesson From Rome

Ryder Cup: Europe conjure late magic to prevent US from winning a single match and take dominant day one lead |

Europe learned that lesson the right way two years ago in Rome. Luke Donald ignored the safer option of starting with fourballs and went straight into foursomes on Friday morning – and the result was a 4-0 whitewash that effectively ended the contest before it had really begun. The U.S. never recovered, and Europe cruised to another dominant home victory.

That result also kept alive a bigger trend: since the famous ‘Miracle at Medinah’ comeback in 2012, the home team has won every Ryder Cup, and they have done so by dominating that Friday foursomes session. Europe have been particularly ruthless on home soil, dropping just half a point out of 12 in the first-day alternate shot matches during their wins in 2014, 2018, and 2023.

When the Ryder Cup was last held in the U.S., at Whistling Straits in 2021, the Americans flipped the script. They took Friday morning’s foursomes 3-1 and never looked back, running up a record 19-9 victory. Go back a little further to Hazeltine in 2016 and you’ll find another foursomes sweep – 4-0 – which left Europe playing catch-up all weekend.

This is why Friday morning matters so much. It’s not just the first chapter of the Ryder Cup – it’s often the most important one.

Can Europe Break the Away Curse?

This is the great unknown hanging over this year’s contest. Europe have struggled badly in away foursomes over the past decade, trailing the U.S. by a combined 11½-4½ in the past two Ryder Cups on American soil. If Donald’s team can turn that around – or at least split the session – they give themselves a real chance of breaking the streak and winning away for the first time since 2012.

Bethpage Black is going to be loud, hostile, and unapologetically partisan. The New York fans will be out in full voice, and they love nothing more than getting under the skin of the opposition. Donald’s hope will be that his experienced pairings can silence the crowd early, or even better, turn them against their own team if things go wrong for Bradley’s men.

There’s even an extra wrinkle this year: every U.S. player is being paid $500,000 for their participation, with a portion going to charity. Europe’s players are united in playing for pride, not pay. If the home side starts slowly, those New York galleries might not be shy about reminding them they’re already incredibly wealthy athletes who now seem distracted by money.

Donald Banking on Experience

Luke Donald has stacked his team with experience, bringing back 11 of the 12 players who delivered that thumping win in Italy. He also has plenty of brainpower behind the scenes, with Ryder Cup-winning captains Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, and Jose Maria Olazabal all serving as vice-captains. Data guru Edoardo Molinari adds an analytical edge to their strategy.

This means Europe’s partnerships should be more settled and battle-tested. Expect to see familiar pairings like Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, or Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, out early. These duos know how to play foursomes under pressure.

Bradley’s Bold New Era

Keegan Bradley has taken a different approach, handing four rookies – Ben Griffin, JJ Spaun, Russell Henley, and Cameron Young – their first Ryder Cup caps. That’s a big gamble. First-tee nerves at Bethpage Black in front of thousands of New Yorkers can be brutal, especially in alternate shot where there’s nowhere to hide.

But Bradley is counting on his rookies to rise to the occasion. He’s also using his own Ryder Cup experience as motivation – famously refusing to open his kit bag from the 2012 defeat at Medinah until he wins one. His message to his players is clear: if he believes in them enough to pick them, they have to deliver for him.

Why This Friday Could Decide It All

The past five Ryder Cups haven’t been close – they’ve all been blowouts for the home team. And yet, if you tally up the points from that period, Europe actually leads overall by a single point. That tells you this rivalry isn’t as one-sided as recent scorelines suggest – it’s just that the team that lands the first punch on Friday morning usually doesn’t let up.

If this opening session ends 2-2 or better for Europe, we could finally get the tight, edge-of-your-seat Ryder Cup we’ve all been craving. If the U.S. sweeps or dominates again, it could be another long, one-sided weekend.

Either way, we won’t have to wait long to find out which way this one is going. When those first foursomes tee off on Friday morning, the pressure will be at its absolute peak – and that’s when the Ryder Cup is at its very best.