Paulie's Picks: 2025 Ryder Cup Friday Foursomes

In a post earlier this week, I gave my projected pairings for Day 1. I came very close to correctly predicting the lineups for foursomes, with all four U.S. teams spot on and two of the four European teams. Let’s take a deep dive into these matches and see if there are any bets worth making:

Match 1: Bryson DeChambeau/Justin Thomas vs. Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton

Rahm/Hatton is arguably Europe’s top foursomes team. They took down Scheffler/Burns and Schauffele/Cantlay in Rome in 2023 in this format. Rahm’s form isn’t nearly as good now as it was in 2023, and Bethpage Black is a different animal, but this is still a very formidable team. 

DeChambeau/Thomas is a full-on energy pairing as U.S. captain Keegan Bradley tries to get the crowd going early, and I like the selections in terms of matching strengths with weaknesses for foursomes. Bryson is elite off the tee and putting, while JT excels with wedges. The course is set up to be a bomber’s paradise, which favors Bryson. However, I think Keegan is going to make a costly mistake if Bryson tees off first in this match. Now, yes, he can maybe drive the first green, but a good portion of the drives on odd holes require a cut, which isn’t Bryson’s shot shape as he plays the largest draw of anyone on Team USA. The optimal tee order would be to have JT tee off on the odd holes and Bryson tee off on the evens. This could be the difference between winning this match or not, and may be something we look back on at the end of the week if the U.S. does not win this match.

Prediction: DeChambeau/Thomas tie Rahm/Hatton

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Match 2: Scottie Scheffler/Russell Henley vs. Ludvig Aberg/Matt Fitzpatrick

Scheffler/Henley is Team USA’s top pairing in the foursomes format. Scheffler is clearly the best player in the event, an elite iron player who is above average in every other area. Henley isn’t very long off the tee but is very consistent and an elite iron player. This team should put a lot of pressure on their opponents with Scheffler hitting approach shots into the greens first on most holes that Henley tees off on. 

Aberg/Fitzpatrick is a pairing that is a bit puzzling to me. Aberg played great with Hovland in Rome and now pairs with Fitzpatrick, who is 1-4 in team matches at the Ryder Cup, including 0-3 in foursomes. Aberg’s form is not as good as it was in 2023 at Rome, which has me a bit worried. Fitz has played great over the last four months, but it is a lot to ask of these two guys to take down the top American team.

Prediction: Scheffler/Henley, 4 and 3, over Aberg/Fitzpatrick

‍Match 3: Collin Morikawa/Harris English vs. Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood

Morikawa/English is Team USA’s weakest foursomes team by a wide margin. Morikawa is not in great form and doesn’t hit the ball very far off the tee, which will limit the birdie chances for this pair. English can be a bit wayward at times off the tee, and that won’t mesh well with Morikawa’s elite iron play. My reasoning for predicting this pairing in the first place was Keegan needing to get every player in a match on the first day and pairing a rookie with a veteran. I would have much rather seen them play against MacIntyre/Hovland than the powerhouse of McIlroy/Fleetwood.

McIlroy/Fleetwood went 2-0 in foursomes together in 2025 in Rome vs. Thomas/Spieth and Schauffele/Cantlay. This is arguably just as good a team as Rahm/Hatton. They pair great together and simply do not make mistakes. This will be a must-win match for Europe as they are heavily favored.

Prediction: McIlroy/Fleetwood, 5 and 3, over Morikawa/English

Match 4: Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay vs. Robert MacIntyre/Viktor Hovland

Schauffele/Cantlay are 6-3 in foursomes as partners in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, but did lose both matches in 2023 in Rome. As the anchor match in the morning session, I do expect a very solid performance from this duo.

MacIntyre/Hovland isn’t as strong as the top two Euro pairings of Rahm/Hatton and McIlroy/Fleetwood, but don’t sleep on these two. They’re both elite with irons and should pair well for this format if they can make a few putts.

Bets to Make

Scheffler/Henley -167 (with ties push) or -125 (with ties losing)

McIlroy/Fleetwood -173 (with ties push) or -130 (with ties losing)

Note: Both of these would be suggested bets up to -200 with ties pushing or -160 with ties losing.