The Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black was billed as tight competition with a loud fan atmosphere. Team Europe made sure the exact opposite happened on Friday morning. Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood were paired again in foursomes in the Ryder Cup, winning an early point to silence the New York crowd. Justin Ray of TwentyFirst Group has the stats showing how elite a pairing McIlroy and Fleetwood are.
Midway through the match, Ray posted, “McIlroy and Fleetwood in foursomes, last 2 Ryder Cups: 40 holes played, Led after 37 holes, Never trailed.” Then, after the match, when McIlroy and Fleetwood stormed to a 5&4 victory, Ray closed the book. “McIlroy and Fleetwood win 5&4, the largest margin of victory in foursomes for an away pairing since 2004. Westwood/Clarke def. DiMarco/Haas 5&4 in 2004 Saturday foursomes.”
Team Europe is largely the same as the group Luke Donald led in 2023 in Rome. McIlroy and Fleetwood have been a team for a while, thanks to their off-course friendship and similar equipment. A great foursomes pairing is hard to find, and Europe has one with these two.
Their competition was far from the best the Americans could put out. Actually, according to DataGolf's strokes-gained tools, Harris English and Collin Morikawa were the worst foursome pairing of all 132 possible combinations. That comes from similar strengths and weaknesses, which English and Morikawa have with great iron play.
The Ryder Cup is far from over, with 24 points still on the board. But the team that wins the opening session has won each of the past two events. McIlroy and Fleetwood are undefeated in foursomes in their careers together and will almost certainly be together on Saturday morning in alternate shot.
The Ryder Cup continues on Friday afternoon with fourball. That format is more similar to traditional stroke play and has been dominated by the Americans. But can Europe keep the momentum up?
