Bjorn is banking on Rory for a fast start
RORY McILROY is set to lead off Europe’s challenge for the Ryder Cup on Friday morning in an explosive new partnership with fiery Spaniard Jon Rahm. Captain Thomas Bjorn wants a fast start to get the crowd involved and quell any early American momentum. A final decision on who will get the honour of leading out Europe in this eagerly anticipated 42nd edition will be made tomorrow morning — but the Dane is ready to turn to McIlroy. The Northern Irishman has practised with Rahm on a number of occasions this summer knowing they would be partners here in France. The 23-year-old is a similar character to Belgian Thomas Pieters, with whom McIlroy formed an effective partnership at Hazeltine two years ago
to win three points out of three. Both teams began to reveal their pairings on the first full day of practice yesterday. Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson were reunited and will definitely play together in the foursomes on Friday afternoon. So too Tommy Fleetwood and Frankie Molinari. In addition to McIlroy and Rahm, the other three partnerships also featured experienced players paired with rookies: Ian Poulter with Tyrrell Hatton, Paul Casey with Thorbjorn Olesen, while Sergio Garcia teamed up with Alex Noren. All three partnerships are likely to see action at some point over the first two days. As for the Americans, the big shock alongside the possible pairing of Woods and Mickelson is that captain Jim Furyk is thinking of splitting up the celebrated partnership of Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed. At Gleneagles four years ago, they were just about the only thing the Americans had going for them. At Hazeltine they took their record to five points from seven matches. But Furyk is believed to be ready to split up the band following a long conversation with Spieth, who wants to play with his long-time buddy Justin Thomas. Another surprise is that big hitters and close friends Brooks Koepka and world No 1 Dustin Johnson is not a given. McIlroy has also jokingly revealed that he hates the Americans during the Ryder Cup — but for this week only. He declared: ‘I think you get yourself into a mindset where there is a genuine dislike, but it’s only for that week. ‘It’s like a fake animosity. I live so close to many of their team, but this week they’re not my friends and I want to beat them badly.’