11 observations from Friday at the Ryder Cup 

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – The first day of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black is in the books, with Europe shell-shocking the home team in foursomes, winning 3-1. The United States stayed alive in the afternoon fourball session, but just barely, losing to Europe, 2.5-1.5. Trailing 5.5-2.5 overall, the home team will have some work to do on Saturday.

Here are 11 observations from Friday at the Ryder Cup:

1. Jon Rahm kicks things off: The Legion XIII captain has developed into a leader for the European team, which was evident by the fact that he hit the opening tee shot in both the morning foursome and afternoon fourball session.

2. A 2-0 day for Rahm: The Spaniard’s day began with a 4&3 victory over Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas. In the afternoon fourballs, he and Sepp Straka defeated Scottie Scheffler and J.J. Spaun 2&1.

3. Rahm automatic with the driver and hot with the putter: Through the first two sessions, Rahm ranks 1st in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (+1.32 per round) and in Strokes Gained: Putting (+2.24 per round).

4. Rahm gets one back on Scheffler: With Rahm and Straka’s win over Scheffler and Spaun in fourball, Rahm improves to 2-1-3 in matches against the world No.1.

5. Rahm’s Ryder Cup run: Speaking of Scheffler, the last time Rahm lost a Ryder Cup match was a singles match to Scheffler in 2021 at Whistling Straits. Since then, he’s either won or tied six consecutive Ryder Cup matches.

6. Hatton’s streak: Tyrrell Hatton trails his Legion XIII teammate Rahm by one in consecutive Ryder Cup matches without a loss, with a streak of five. His last loss also came at Whistling Straits when he and Paul Casey lost to Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa in foursomes 2&1.

7. Hatton shines: Rahm’s Legion XIII running mate was one of Europe’s best players in morning foursomes, ranking 2nd in Strokes Gained: Total.

8. Hot putter for Hatton: His putting was the strongest part of his game, gaining 1.12 strokes, which ranked 3rd.

9. No heat check for Hatton: European captain Luke Donald’s decision to sit Hatton in the afternoon fourballs was a curious one considering how well he played. Donald typically pre-plans his lineups and sticks to the plan, so it isn’t incredibly surprising that he sat, however it’s likely the Americans breathed a sigh of relief when his name wasn’t on the lineup card.

10. Unstoppable duo: With the 4&3 win in foursomes, Rahm and Hatton improved to a perfect 4-0 record together in the Ryder Cup.

11. DeChambeau can’t do it alone: Astoundingly, both of DeChambeau’s partners on Friday ranked in the bottom two for their session in Strokes Gained: Total. In the morning foursomes, Justin Thomas lost 2.77 strokes to the field (16th of 16), while DeChambeau gained 1.31 (3rd). In the afternoon fourballs, Ben Griffin lost 3.01 strokes to the field (15th of 16), while DeChambeau gained 1.14 (8th). The Crushers GC captain may have gone 0-2 on Friday, but it wasn’t entirely reflective of his quality of play.