The 2023 Ryder Cup has all the makings of a blowout as Europe commands a 6.5 to 1.5 lead matching the all-time Day 1 margin at this event. The strategy is clearly not broken for the home team, so they have chosen not to divert from their morning foursomes teams, though they have added one slight variation.
The same four European pairs that produced a 4 to 0 foursomes victory Friday morning will play again with Rory McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood leading the charge. Playing in the anchor match and defeating Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay, McIlroy & Fleetwood will swap spots with Jon Rahm & Tyrrell Hatton in the lineup as they face another American staple pair in Justin Thomas & Jordan Spieth.
Spieth & Thomas put the first points on the board for the U.S., and they will need plenty more if they are going to mount a historic comeback. After sitting in foursomes, Thomas & Spieth will need to ignite this American side with the fireworks they so often produce.
Scottie Scheffler will pair with Brooks Koepka for the second consecutive session, meaning Sam Burns will be left on the bench yet again. He joins Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark on the sidelines. Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre and Nicolai Hojgaard will sit for the Europeans.
CBS Sports offers 2023 Ryder Cup live results and scores as we cover the event live from Rome, so be sure to stick with us through all eight matches on Saturday. Also, don't forget to read up on the Ryder Cup format and scoring rules so you have a bit of refresher in case you missed Friday's action.
Here's a look at the foursomes matchups for the third session on Saturday morning. Check out a full 2023 Ryder Cup TV schedule and viewer's guide so you can follow all week long.
All times Eastern
2023 Ryder Cup schedule
Day 2
Session 3 (foursomes): 1:35 a.m.
Session 4 (four-ball): 6:25 a.m.
Live TV coverage: 1:30-3 a.m. on USA Network | 3 a.m. to noon on NBC
Live stream online: 1:30 a.m. to noon on fubo (Try for free) and RyderCup.com
Foursomes
| Match | Time | United States | Europe |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1:35 a.m. | Justin Thomas & Jordan Spieth | Rory McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood |
| 10 | 1:50 a.m. | Scottie Scheffler & Brooks Koepka | Viktor Hovland & Ludvig Aberg |
| 11 | 2:05 a.m. | Max Homa & Brian Harman | Sepp Straka & Shane Lowry |
| 12 | 2:20 a.m. | Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele | Jon Rahm & Tyrrell Hatton |
Europe is clearly going for the win early in the day as it runs several of its superteams back out to try and quell any American dreams of a potential comeback before they get too far. The U.S., on the other hand, is throwing all of its stars at the session and hoping for the best.
The key matches seem to be the first two. Thomas & Spieth beating McIlroy & Fleetwood would be a massive emotional boost for the U.S. and potentially help pave the way so that they would have an opportunity to make up ground in the four-ball matches. Same thing with Scheffler & Koepka against Hovland & Aberg. If the U.S. can squeeze wins out of the first two matches, there's a path to get back into it. If both of those teams fall, the champagne will be put on ice.
Spieth is -- somewhat surprisingly perhaps -- the bigger question mark in his pairing with J.T. He did nothing over the final five holes as Thomas tried to get them across the finish line in four-ball. There's nowhere to hide in foursomes, and Spieth will get exposed by a great McIlroy & Fleetwood pairing if he hits it like he did late in the day on Friday. (To be fair, he made three consecutive birdies before the bad five-hole stretch at the end).
Two surprises: Max Homa & Brian Harman were arguably the worst U.S. pairing in foursomes Friday morning. They made just two birdies and shot 1 over in their match. I'm mildly surprised that they're being send back out, especially as Wyndham Clark -- who led the team in strokes gained, according to Data Golf -- sits out this session.
The other surprise is that U.S. captain Zach Johnson said Friday evening that there is a sickness spreading in the U.S. team room.
"We have got some congestion and some just signs of things that are unfortunate," he explained. "It's one of those where sometimes the energy is probably a little low, but the ability and desire to go out and play is still there. That's what we are weighing. Every one of them still wants to play every match, which is encouraging."
When he was asked if it's spreading through his team, he admitted that it was an issue.
"It kind of has, yeah" he said. "I'm being honest, yes, it has. It has spread through my team."
This is obviously not great and yet another obstacle in the Americans' way as they try to pull off what would be a heroic comeback given the 6.5 to 1.5 deficit they are currently in.
