2014 Ryder Cup: Schedule, pairings announced for Friday’s foursomes matches

The opening session of the Ryder Cup left some decorated veterans on the bench for both sides. But captains Tom Watson and Paul McGinley said on Thursday afternoon that they planned to have everyone on the 12-man roster play the first day. And the captains were true to their word, getting the rest of their rosters out for alternate-shot foursomes.

All four players in the fifth match of the day will be coming off the bench, which isn’t a huge surprise given the shorter turnaround time between sessions. The Lee Westwood/Jamie Donaldson pairing was one we expected, the most experience Brit guiding the rookie Welshman though his opening match. They draw two American veterans in Matt Kuchar and Jim Furyk. Kuchar has never lost in the two-man games, while Furyk has a 9-17-4 overall record and 4-6-2 mark in foursomes. Given Westwood’s underwhelming season and Donaldson’s rookie start, the Americans should be favored in this match. Despite his record, Fuyrk is the highest ranked player on the American team.

Watson will get his next two bench guys out in the second match, pairing Hunter Mahan and Zach Johnson against the Rose/Stenson combo that dominated in morning four-ball. The heavyweight match again features the Rory McIlroy/Sergio Garcia pair. It’s hard not to call it the heavyweight match when two of the top three players in the world are paired together. The Walker/Fowler team has been on the ropes for much of the morning four-ball, but have held on and forced their match to the 18th hole down 1 to Kaymer and Bjorn.

The biggest surprise of the lineup is that Watson is opting to sit Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth, the rookies who rolled over European Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter. They shouldn’t be lacking energy given their ages, and both wielded pretty hot putters on the way to clinching the USA’s first point.

Instead of Reed and Spieth, Watson goes with Bradley and Mickelson again in the anchor match of the day. Phil started the day with gloves on both hands and covered in a rain suit, which, according to Butch Harmon, he wore to keep warm because of his arthritis. The 36-hole march could be a challenge for Mickelson, but he’s used to playing the alternate shot format and had success in foursomes with Bradley in 2012. They get the rookie Victor Dubuisson and Graeme McDowell, who have to wait until the final tee time of the day before getting out on the course.

Here’s the updated match board for day 1: