Ryder Cup: Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood to lead unchanged Europe out in Saturday foursomes

Rory McIlroy teams up with Tommy Fleetwood again, but this time leads an unchanged European foursomes line-up on Saturday morning; they will face American duo Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the opening match; Watch day two live on Saturday from 6am, ahead of the first tee shot at 6.35am

Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood will lead an unchanged European foursomes line-up on Saturday morning, facing American duo Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the opening match.

Luke Donald has chosen to stay with the same combination that won all four matches on Friday in the foursomes at the Marco Simone GC. It was the first time in Ryder Cup history that Europe won the opening session, helping the hosts to a commanding lead of 6.5-1.5.

McIlroy, who won both his matches on Friday, will partner Fleetwood again – after securing a 2&1 win on the opening morning.

Masters champion Jon Rahm teams up with Tyrrell Hatton again in the final pairing, with the only substitution of Europe’s historic 4-0 win over the foursome on Friday morning seeing the first and last pair swapped.

More to follow…

Friday foursome matches (all BST)

0635 Rory McIlroy (NIrl) & Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) vs. Justin Thomas & 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 will 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 unprecedented against this strong American team.

“It was tough this afternoon, very tough. We have shown so much perseverance and determination to turn the tide.

“We will never do that (underestimate the US). They are too strong. We saw that two years ago (at Whistling Straits).

“Every day it’s about winning the next session.”

Team USA captain Zach Johnson: “I have a lot of confidence in my eight. All these guys that I have on my side, I know they’re going against a very bona fide opponent, all eight of us against all eight of them.

Obviously we have a lot of confidence in getting Scottie (Scheffler) and Sam (Burns) out. You have some experience there, and you also have some chemistry. Those guys want to go after it, and I’m confident they can do that.”

What happens now?

Saturday’s four-ball action will then start at 12.25pm ​​(11.25am BST), although this may be delayed slightly, with 15 minutes between each match and the final match starting 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 start times

Day 2 (Saturday) – 4 Fourballs

• 12.25 Fourball (match 13)
• 12.40 Fourball (match 14)
• 12.55 Four ball (match 15)
• 1:10 PM Fourball (match 16)

Day 3 (Sunday) – 12 singles

• Match 17 starts at 10.35am, with players teeing off every 12 minutes.

Who will win the 2023 Ryder Cup? Watch this week exclusively live on Sky Sports! Live coverage from day two will begin from 6am on Saturday, ahead of the first start time at 6.35am. Stream the Ryder Cup and more for £21 per month for six months with NOW.