Captains Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker have given hints about their Ryder Cup pairings.
The 43rd edition of the Ryder Cup gets underway at Whistling Straits on Friday, but golfers took to the course for the first time yesterday as practice rounds began.
Potential USA Ryder Cup pairings
Despite half of his side being rookies, Stricker looked to have at least three strong pairings to call on as the United States aimed to regain the trophy lost in Paris in 2018.
Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler were in the same group on Tuesday, with Spieth and Thomas set to resume their successful partnership from 2018.
Finding a partner for the big-hitting DeChambeau looks a tougher task, although Scheffler averaged more than 300 yards off the tee on the PGA Tour last season.
Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa formed the second group, with good friends Cantlay and Schauffele expected to pair up as they did in the Presidents Cup.
The final group contained Daniel Berger, Harris English, Tony Finau and Brooks Koepka, the latter pair having played twice together in Paris.
Potential Europe Ryder Cup pairings
On the European side, world number one Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton went out together, with Fleetwood in need of a new partner after Francesco Molinari failed to make the team.
Paul Casey, Bernd Wiesberger, Matt Fitzpatrick and Ian Poulter were in group two, Poulter perhaps being lined up to give rookie Wiesberger the benefits of his experience.
The final group saw another rookie, Norway’s Viktor Hovland, surrounded by the experienced trio of Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia.
In the evening, Harrington was asked about his thoughts on his pairings and whether he felt the experience of Sergio Garcia, playing in his 10th Ryder Cup, and the form of compatriot and world number one Jon Rahm could recreate the energy of the famous partnership of Seve Ballesteros and Jose-Maria Olazabal.
“It is hard to believe you could have the same energy as Seve and Jose over the years,” he added.
“The biggest picture in our locker room is of Seve and Jose, they are iconic when it comes to the Ryder Cup in Europe.
“I wouldn’t ask anyone to live up to that but if they came close it would be nice.”
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