Under Luke Donald’s captaincy we know Team Europe take very much a stats and data approach to their pairings for the Ryder Cup. This is never more evident than in the foursomes pairings Donald and his vice captains assemble. One way they narrow down their choices is by pairing players who use the same or similar golf balls.
- RELATED: Best Golf Balls 2025: The Ultimate Guide for Every Swing Speed and Handicap!
- RELATED: What are the best golf books? You won’t better this fabulous list!
After their impressive performance in Rome two years ago, there is only one change to the European side. Rasmus Höjgaard comes in for his twin brother after automatically qualifying.
Team USA, on the other hand, has seen a fairly comprehensive makeover of the side that was well beaten in Rome two years ago.
Ahead of Day One, we predicted the foursomes pairings we may have seen based on which golf balls they game. We got some right, and some which we didn’t see lining up together at 7am this morning.
A rule change ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup allowed each pairing to alternate between golf balls between holes. This essentially allowed the player hitting into the green on each hole the opportunity to do so with his own preferred ball, seen as a key if marginal gain.
When it comes to this level, players are very selective when it comes to their golf ball choice. Spin rates, flight, control and feel of the club all come into the equation. Not having to worry about switching balls between each hole or trying to predict how a different type of ball will react in a particular situation is likely to make the players feel more comfortable.
Here’s the pairings we thought we’d see and might yet team up together as the weekend unfolds…
Team Europe ball choices
- Rory McIlroy – TaylorMade TP5
- Tommy Fleetwood – TaylorMade TP5x Pix
- Justin Rose – Titleist Pro V1x
- Tyrell Hatton – Titleist Pro V1x
- Ludvig Åberg – Titleist Pro V1x
- Matt Fitzpatrick – Titleist Pro V1x
- Bob McIntyre – Titleist Pro V1
- Viktor Hovland – Titleist Pro V1
- Shane Lowry – Srixon Z-Star XV
- Sepp Straka – Srixon Z-Star XV
- Rasmus Højgaard – Callaway Chrome Tour X
- Jon Rahm – Callaway Chrome Tour X
Team USA ball choices
- Scottie Scheffler – Titleist Pro V1
- Harris English – Titleist Pro V1
- Bryson DeChambeau – Titleist Pro V1x
- Justin Thomas – Titleist Pro V1x
- Russell Henley – Titleist Pro V1x
- Cameron Young – Titleist Pro V1x
- Patrick Cantlay – Titleist Pro V1x
- Xander Schaufelle – Callaway Chrome Tour
- Sam Burns – Callaway Chrome Tour
- JJ Spaun – Srixon Z-Star Diamond
- Collin Morikawa – TaylorMade TP5
- Ben Griffin – Maxfli Tour X
Predicted Pairings – Europe
Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood
Was this pairing in any dounbt? Dubbed ‘FleetwoodMac’, this rockstar pairing proved to be invaluable for the European team in Rome. The Hollywood duo won both of their foursomes matches. They took down Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay 2&1, as well as the tried-and-tested pairing of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. This time they one 5&4 in the third match of day one, remaining undefeated in Ryder Cup foursomes.
Advertisement
We think there is a high chance Captain Luke Donald will opt for the same blockbuster pairing in New York for the first day foursomes to help quieten what will be a boisterous American crowd.
Both are TaylorMade staffers but they do opt for a different variant of the brand’s signature TP5 range. Fleetwood uses the TP5x Pix while McIlroy uses the standard TP5.
This varies slightly from 2023, when McIlroy had a TP5x in play, so it will be interesting to see if Donald sticks with these two but the new foursomes ball rule and their impressive record may make his decision for him.
Jon Rahm/Tyrell Hatton
Another foursomes pairing that went two for two in Rome for Europe is the LIV Golf duo of Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton. This was also a bit of a no brainer and arguably Europe’s strongest pairing. They took down crowd favourites in Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas as they battled on to win 4&3.
The Spaniard and the Englishman have formed quite the formidable partnership over on LIV as part of the Legion XIII, which Rahm captains. They edged out Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC to win the LIV Golf team championship in a playoff.
Rahm and Hatton started things off impressively for Europe by claiming the first point of the 2023 Ryder Cup when they beat Scottie Scheffle and Sam Burns 4&3. Next up were Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay who they beat 2&1 in the Saturday morning session.
Advertisement
Viktor Hovland/Ludvig Åberg
There’s a recurring theme here. Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg were another highly successful pairing at the last Ryder Cup, winning both their foursomes matches. We’d be shocked if Luke Donald didn’t have these two lining-up next to each other in the foursomes at some point over the first two days. After all, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
This pairing is quite an obvious one, when you factor in their Scandinavian origins and character types as well as their golf ball choices. Both play a Titleist Pro V1, although Åberg does prefer the Pro V1x.
Shane Lowry/Sepp Straka
The final European pairing we believe Donald will put out is Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka. Sometimes pairings just make sense and this one ticks that box. Again, they were paired together twice last year with a loss and a win. But the fact that both use the Srixon Z-Star XV golf ball means that neither will have to worry about getting used to a different model.
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton
Predicted Pairings – USA
Scottie Scheffler/Harris English
Advertisement
Both players also played in the 2024 Presidents Cup together, going 2-1. They have the history, both are in great form and they play the same ball – sounds like a recipe for success to us.
Bryson DeChambeau/Cameron Young
Wouldn’t this be a frightening pair? These are two of the biggest hitters in this year’s Ryder Cup and both game a Titleist Pro V1x. Cameron Young is the hometown hero and Bryson DeChambeau is adored by the US crowds. We think this pairing could really up the intensity from the New York galleries to create an intimidating atmosphere for the Europeans.
DeChambeau is going to have to take the role of one of the more senior figures on the US team, so pairing him with a rookie kind of feels inevitable. Young has, however, represented the United States at the Presidents Cup and is in the form of his life going into Bethpage. This pairing would certainly be fireworks and could be exactly what the US needs.
Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele
America’s go-to foursomes pairing in the Ryder Cup. This is a duo that know each other inside out. They won America’s only point in the morning session of day one to prevent an embarrassing European whitewash on home soil. How vital will that point be?
The pair have played together in Ryder Cups and Presidents Cup more than a dozen times, and with seven wins together they are a fairly strong pick for Keegan Bradley to hang his hat on. Speaking of hats, with ‘hatgate’ still lingering on, there might be an extra bit of fire in the belly of these two.
There is an element of risk, however, as both do play different golf balls. Schauffele use a Callaway Chrome Tour, whereas Patrick Cantlay opts for the Titleist Pro V1x. But with their long history of plying together in matchplay, we can’t see this being much of a hurdle. The pair did struggle in Rome two years ago which could cause some food for thought for Bradley, but there wasn’t many USA players who didn’t find the going tough that week.
Advertisement
It would be quite the surprise to not see this pairing for the USA in the foursomes at some point on Friday or Saturday.
Justin Thomas/Russell Henley
We find it hard to believe that Bradley won’t go with his most experienced player at some point for the foursomes. Justin Thomas has rediscovered a bit of the form that helped him become a multiple major champion and is therefore the perfect player to pair Ryder Cup rookie, Russell Henley.
Although Henley is making his Ryder Cup debut he does have some matchplay experience when he impressed at the 2024 Presidents Cup. Paired then with Scottie Scheffler, he arguably outplayed the World No 1 in their Saturday foursomes win.
Both play a Titleist Pro V1x, so should have no problem playing together. This could be a pairing the Europeans have to keep an eye on.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to ball match ups then Europe are certainly better suited. That certainly showed on day one as they won the session 3-1. However, the USA did pick up the final point of the first foursomes match to give the home crowd plenty to shout about.
The outlier in the pack is the Maxfli ball played by Ben Griffin. Will this mean he will not even be considered for foursomes by Keegan Bradley? Again, only time will tell but it is hard to imagine other members of Team USA will be jumping the gun to wanting to play a Maxfli ball later this month.
Advertisement
On the whole, when you take a look at the American team it is noticeable that the pairing options for the foursomes seemed to be few and far between, compared to the European team. Going purely of which golf ball they play that is, the pairings are particularly obvious.
Could this be the deciding factor at the 2025 Ryder Cup? We’ll have to wait a couple of more weeks to find that out.
Will the foursomes tomorrow be the same, or will we see both Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley shift around their pairings?
Don’t forget to check out and like our YouTube channel – YOUR GOLF NCG – where you will find lots of hints, tips and equipment reviews.
