FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) \u2014 Jon Rahm got partner Tyrrell Hatton out of trouble from the rough in the morning and ruled the greens in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
As Europe relies on familiar pairings and its most dependable players at the Ryder Cup<\/a>, Rahm was on the leading edge of getting his team off to a strong start<\/a>, leading 5 1\/2-2 1\/2. He made seven birdie putts from 8-plus feet on Friday and improved to 8-1-3 in Ryder Cup play dating to his defeat of Tiger Woods in singles in Paris in 2018.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t take all the credit \u2014 I\u2019ve had really good partners,\u201d Rahm said. \u201cTyrrell has been a fantastic partner (and) Sepp has done his thing. We can\u2019t lose alone. It\u2019s a team. I\u2019ve been fortunate to have really good teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of his teammates came up big, too. Like Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood contributed to Europe picking up two points on Day 1 by winning foursomes with partner Rory McIlroy<\/a> and then again in fourballs with Justin Rose.<\/p>\n \u201cThe scoreboard is what counts,\u201d Fleetwood said. \u201cI think just our team as a collective, I think we obviously feel very prepared, and we\u2019ve been looking forward to this day for a long time now.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Prepared like captain Luke Donald hoped they’d be. Donald did not quite run it back<\/a> with the exact lineup that won in Rome<\/a> in 2023, but kept the Rahm-Hatton and \u201cFleetwood Mac\u201d duo of Fleetwood and McIlroy together for foursomes.<\/p>\n Donald liked his pairings so much he\u2019s going with the same four Saturday for morning foursomes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a lot of great players and a lot of great partnerships,\u201d Fleetwood said. \u201cAs a team, there\u2019s a lot of continuity there.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Fleetwood and McIlroy rolled past Collin Morikawa and Harris English 5 and 4. Rahm and Hatton rallied from a rough first few holes to beat Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas 4 and 3.<\/p>\n Eliciting the sing-song \u201cOle! Ole! Ole!\u201d chants from fans waiting at the 18th hole they didn\u2019t come close to needing, Rahm’s and Hatton\u2019s mutual admiration more than ran its course.<\/p>\n \u201cThis man is a joy to be partnered with,\u201d Rahm said. “We spend a lot of time together and he can be very, very dependable when things get going difficult. I have full confidence every single time, and just glad we were able to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n DeChambeau and Thomas were 1 up through five when Hatton\u2019s tee shot went left and into the rough. Rahm chipped his second shot to around three feet, and they halved the hole.<\/p>\n \u201cJon hit an amazing recovery shot,\u201d Hatton said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone thought that we\u2019d be putting second.\u201d<\/p>\n They tied it on No. 7 after Hatton rescued them by hitting a shot through trees with a stick a mere inches in front of his ball. They went 1 up on No. 8 and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t have our best start during the first seven holes, (but) we battled, we stayed in it and from then on we started hitting good shots and getting really positive vibes,\u201d Rahm said.<\/p>\n Returning 11 of the 12 players who won at Marco Simone two years ago, Donald split up Viktor Hovland and Ludvig \u00c5berg , putting them with new partners. \u00c5berg and Matt Fitzpatrick beat Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley, while Hovland and Robert MacIntyre lost to Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.<\/p>\n By juggling things a bit, Donald may have found a new winning combination. Asked about beating Scheffler, the top-ranked player in the world, \u00c5berg said: \u201cI had a great partner. I think that speaks to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Donald is leaning on his previous playing partnership with Sergio Garcia as part of his thinking of matching personalities.<\/p>\n \u201cFoursomes, it\u2019s a little bit more of a team, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Donald said. \u201cI mean, you have to rely on your teammate even more.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n