Ryder Cup 2023 LIVE! Latest scores, updates and results as Team Europe take huge lead into Saturday
Team Europe look to build on their commanding Ryder Cup advantage in this morning’s foursomes session. Luke Donald’s side enjoyed a dream opening day in Rome, preventing the USA from winning a single match, and have put themselves in charge with a 6½-1½ lead.
They swept yesterday’s foursomes matches and the challenge is to do something similar this time, with Donald unsurprisingly opting for the same four pairings. Rory McIlroy, who already has two point to his name, teams up with Tommy Fleetwood in the opening match, up against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. Viktor Hovland and Luvdig Aberg then take on Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka, who had to settle for half a point in the fourballs as they were left stunned by Jon Rahm’s magic.
Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka were impressive on the opening day and this time face Team USA pairing Max Homa and Brian Harman, before the fiery duo of Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton close the session out against close friends Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog, featuring expert analysis from Matt Majendie in Rome.
Live updates
Rose keen to keep red off the board
Justin Rose said the fear of allowing a first USA win to go against Europe inspired his late heroics on the 18th hole yesterday.
At one stage, it looked like the United States might potentially win the afternoon session 3-1, only for Europe to rally through Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and finally Justin Rose.
Rose ensured the session ended 2½-1½ in Europe’s favour with a nailbiting putt to launch rapturous celebrations on the 18th in the day’s final match.
Afterwards, the 43-year-old, comfortably the oldest player on either side, revealed: “I said to my caddie, ‘Come on, I don’t want to be the only piece of red on that board’.
“The 18th hole was incredibly kind to us, and the boys holed some unbelievable putts. Those three ties mean a lot, just for a moral victory as well as obviously keeping the score as spread as possible.
“I couldn’t have imagined it. I definitely felt Europe were up against it for a period of time. Today was an unbelievable day.”
Johnson hints at illness issues
American Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson suggested illness had beset his players and caddies after the team succumbed to a horror start.
After watching his side unravel on the opening day, Johnson hinted that an unspecified health issue, which had spread the camp, was partly to blame.
He said: “The bottom line is there’s been some unforeseen things that we’ve had to navigate around, which is really unfortunate, in the sense of health.
“It’s not an excuse because we have depth but I’ll just say I’m grateful we have a team doctor. We’re just fighting things… internally. It’s kind of passed around a little bit, caddies, players. It is what it is.”
Europe unbeaten on day one
Team Europe take a commanding 6½ -1½ lead into day two of the Ryder Cup after dominating Team USA in Rome.
After a clean sweep in the morning foursomes, the afternoon session yesterday ended with advantage Europe, without a single US victory across four dramatic matches.
Jon Rahm produced two stunning eagles on the final three holes for a half-point which very much felt like a win. And Viktor Hovland, who along with Rahm was Europe’s other star in the morning, sunk a 25-foot birdie to ensure an only marginally less dramatic half in his match.
Matt Fitzpatrick, playing fourballs for the first time in his Ryder Cup career, was remarkably went six-under over a five-hole stretch on the front nine as playing partner Rory McIlroy could only watch in awe as the pair went six up in seven against Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.
Understandably, Fitzpatrick called it “one of the greatest days I’ve ever had on a golf course”. And while the Americans cut back the deficit to four for a time, the comeback proved shortlived.
The sole US win of the day looked to be coming through Max Homa and Wyndham Clark, yet it was denied late on by the oldest man in this Ryder Cup, 43-year-old Justin Rose, who carded six birdies for the third half-point of the session.
Read our full recap here!
This morning’s foursomes schedule…
Match 1, 6:35am: McIlroy & Fleetwood vs Spieth & Thomas
Match 2, 6:50am: Hovland & Aberg vs Scheffler & Koepka
Match 3, 7:05am: Lowry & Straka vs Homa & Harman
Match 4, 7:20am: Rahm & Hatton vs Cantlay & Schauffele
All times BST.
How to watch the Ryder Cup
TV channel: The weekend action will be broadcast in their entirety across Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Golf. Coverage gets underway at 6am BST this morning morning, ahead of the opening tee shot at 6:35am, and runs through all the way to the final shot of the day.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can stream the action via the SkyGo app.
Highlights: Full highlights from day two will be on BBC Two and iPlayer from 8.30pm. Day three highlights across the same channels, but at 7.30pm.
Live blog: You can follow every shot right here with us!
Good morning!
Here we go again…
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of the second day of the 2023 Ryder Cup!
Yesterday could not really have gone much better for Team Europe – they have a 6½-1½ lead in Rome and already it looks as though the USA’s 30-year wait for a win away from home is going to be extended.
We’ll have all the latest reaction from the opening day’s play, before full build-up and coverage of today’s action, which gets underway at 6:35m BST from the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club. Stay with us!
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