Ryder Cup notebook: Team Europe’s pairings, ‘gentleman’ Jordan Spieth, drama and Rome heat

Team Europe and Team USA practiced at Marco Simone on Tuesday ahead of the Ryder Cup; Luke Donald wants to avenge 19-9 loss at Whistling Straits in 2021; Watch the opening day live on Sky Sports Golf on Friday from 6am

A look at the latest storylines from Rome ahead of the Ryder Cup, including potential Team Europe pairings, Jordan Spieth’s likely partner, challenging conditions and potential drama ahead at Marco Simone GC…

Early look at European matings

As always during the practice days before the Ryder Cup starts, we try to second guess the captains by seeing who plays who during the practice rounds.

Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka and Tommy Fleetwood teed off in Europe’s first group on Tuesday, with second fourball Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg. The final four on the tee were Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Nicolai Hojgaard and Bob MacIntyre.

McIlroy’s group played with their own balls on the front nine, but then switched it up to foursomes on the back nine, with McIlroy and Fleetwood forming a foursome team against Lowry and Straka. Maybe we can see McIlroy and Fleetwood together in a foursome on Friday morning?

Team USA giving away big clues?

When facing the media, European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald said we shouldn’t read too much into Tuesday’s pairings, but it seems a bit simpler as to who we can see playing together for Team USA on Friday.

In their first group out, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were joined by Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, two ready-made combinations we’ve seen in the Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups in recent years.

The second group consisted of Collin Morikawa and Max Homa; a couple of California guys who are good friends and played together at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans earlier this year, with Rickie Fowler and Brian Harman also in that fourball.

In their third fourball we saw world number 1 Scottie Scheffler team up with Sam Burns, a duo we saw at last year’s Presidents Cup, with Brooks Koepka and Wyndham Clark completing that group.

‘Gentleman’ Spieth stays with Thomas?

Dharmesh Sheth: “I wanted to give you a little insight into what a gentleman Jordan Spieth is. I saw him at the driving range on Monday and asked him for a few minutes of his time Sky Sports Newsto which he replied, “I can’t do it now, but I can do it tomorrow.”

“I saw him again a day later and said ‘I’m back, is it possible to do that interview?’. He asked if we could do that at the chipping green and was more than happy to do so. He stayed true to his word and provided a lot of great insight on a variety of topics.

“Team USA went to practice for nine holes Tuesday morning and played holes 10-18, and the two people standing alone on the driving range when we got there shortly after they finished were Spieth and Justin Thomas.

“They’ve played together before in the Ryder Cups and the Presidents Cups, they’ve practiced together and you can’t tell them apart. Something tells me we might see them continue that partnership when the game gets underway.”

Drama brewing on the drivable 16th?

Marco Simone GC’s 16th hole will see plenty of drama this week. The 16th hole is always crucial when it comes to match play, as matches can arrive there with one side two or three ahead and try to close out the match, or it can be right in the balance.

The 16th here is a drivable par-four of 303 yards that plays downhill, with a few caddies suggesting to me that their players will always take it on because laying up isn’t really an option for them.

On Tuesday McIlroy took a five-wood and reached comfortably, as did Fleetwood with a three-wood, but the wind was behind them. It cries in their teeth, it could be a different story.

With rough edges around the green, a roll-off area in the back and a huge expanse of water on the right, it could be a real risk-reward hole that will be entertaining for fans watching both on the course and at home.

Hot week ahead in Rome

A hallmark of the European Ryder Cups in days gone by was the unpredictable weather. In both 2006 at the K Club in Ireland and 2014 at Gleneagles in Scotland, players showed up to the tee box from head to toe in layers of clothing, mittens and woolen hats.

In 2010, the tournament at Celtic Manor in Wales even extended to a Monday after heavy rain hit the event at the start of the week. This will not be the case at Marco Simone in 2023, with temperatures expected to be wonderfully sunny and around 30 degrees every day.

We’re ready for a hot Ryder Cup. I was told this phenomenon is called Ottobrata Romana, or a Roman October. Locals proudly boast that Rome is the best place to be in Europe at this time of year.

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