08:10 AM BST
McIlroy brushes in his birdie putt at the fourth
And the scoreboard is now awash with blue! Europe leading in every match, and the Americans have not had the lead in any of them at any stage.
08:08 AM BST
Fleetwood taking a leaf out of Rahm’s book
Fires in a cracking iron shot at the par three fourth, to give McIlroy a birdie putt in the bottom match.
At the other par three on the front nine, the seventh, Hovland’s iron shot is excellent. Aberg will have a birdie try from inside 20 feet, in that second match against Homa and Harman. Europe dominant at the moment.
08:05 AM BST
Rahm has brought his A game
At the par four eighth, Rahm sends another iron shot into orbit that covered the flag. Europe in tight, and Hatton will have a putt from 15 feet that could put Europe three up.
08:03 AM BST
Aberg puts Europe two up in the second match
That’s the youngster’s first big contribution, and will settle him down. Drains a putt to win the hole from 15 feet or so, and Europe are now two up in top two matches.
07:59 AM BST
Straka finds the water on the fifth
Took the green on at the driveable par four, and pulled it into the drink. Somewhat surprisingly, Morikawa still took driver but his tee shot was a good one. Right over the pin and over the back edge. Advantage America there, a good chance for them to get back to one down.
07:57 AM BST
Rahm and Hatton are indeed two up
Rahm rewarded for his stunning tee shot, Burns cannot hole for birdie from the fringe. Europe now two up in two matches.
07:55 AM BST
Hovland and Aberg back in front
A scrappy hole if truth be told at the short par four fifth, but a European par is enough to put them one up in the second match. Still no halved hole between Hovland and Aberg and Harman and Homa.
07:53 AM BST
Rahm goes close to a hole in one at the seventh!
The Spaniard took a very aggressive line to a back right pin on the par three, and his towering iron shot was all over the flag in the air. Landed 20 feet short and bounced forward, and very nearly jammed in the hole. Struck the pin and stops within kick-in range. That will be a European birdie, and more than likely two up thru seven in the top match.
07:51 AM BST
One fan’s week could be over already
One rowdy spectator is facing potential ejection at Marco Simone after shouting “you sucky Scottie” during Scottie Scheffler’s practice swing at the first tee.
Members of the crowd said the man was being hunted down by staff after overstepping the mark amid the typically raucous atmosphere.
Scheffler is not believed to have reacted while preparing to hit his drive, but one nearby spectator described the heckle as a “poor show”.
With a long day still ahead, spectators should beware the Peroni on tap, however – at 4.7 per cent, those beers are going to pack a punch as temperatures soar beyond 30C.
07:49 AM BST
Harman left to hack out of heavy rough on the fifth…
Homa’s drive at the short par four fifth was long and left, leaving his partner in a near impossible position. Harman gets a flyer from the thick stuff that races off the front of the green.
Burns and Scheffler have just won the sixth hole, so Europe now just one up in that top match.
07:45 AM BST
Some famous faces in the crowd
07:43 AM BST
Hovland and Aberg about to play the short par four fifth
Hovland made a hole-in-one albatross on this hole yesterday, but won’t be hitting Europe’s tee shot today, it will fall to his partner Aberg. The tees are up so the green is well within range at 286 yards.
07:41 AM BST
Wonderful shot from Lowry on the third
After watching Fowler pull his approach into rough, Lowry takes on a brave live and uses the contours left of the green to feed the ball down to within birdie range. Europe surely about to go one up thru three in the third match.
07:39 AM BST
Aberg left Hovland in tough spot at the par three fourth
His tee shot was not far off line, but was tweaked left which is bad news when the pin is on the same side. Hovland got greedy with the very difficult chip, and left it short in the rough. Homa and Harman surely about to level the match after finding the heart of the green.
Aberg very nearly holed his chip for the half though! Skimmed the right edge and he was close to going for the fist pump. Great effort, but back to all square. That second match is yet to see a halved hole.
07:35 AM BST
The first hole halved in par fours in the bottom match
McIlroy played a lovely pitch up the green, and Schauffele cleaned up well for his par.
In the top match, Europe birdied the short par four fifth, so Rahm and Hatton are now two up. A very solid start.
07:32 AM BST
The big improvement in Hovland’s game
Hovland’s shortgame has been transformed in the last year. Not sure I’ve witnessed such a stunning improvement so quickly.
07:31 AM BST
The golfing gods are smiling on Hovland
His pitch from a run-off area to the left of the par four third was racing past, but struck the pin and nestled within gimme range.
It does not matter though, because Homa holes a lengthy birdie putt to reduce the deficit. Europe only one up after three in the second match. For Homa and Harman, it was crucial that they did not go three down.
07:28 AM BST
Scheffler misses a great chance to level the top match
Putting from short-range is one of the only weaknesses in Scheffler’s game, and he fails to covert a cracking Burns tee shot on the par three fourth. Rahm and Hatton remain one up after a safe par.
07:26 AM BST
Not sure anyone enjoyed Hovland’s chip in as much as Shane Lowry
07:23 AM BST
Back to the first tee in a mouth-watering final match
Cantlay’s drive hugs the left side and settles in the first cut of rough.
McIlroy up next, playing alongside Tommy Fleetwood. A little more fade on his drive than ideal, and his partner will be playing his approach shot from the rough. Not disastrous, though.
07:21 AM BST
Hovland and Aberg two up!
Hovland looks alight right now, holing a par putt from 15 feet across the second green. Harman and Homa found sandy trouble and that is another hole to the Europeans in the second match.
Back on the first, Fowler missed a presentable chance to win the hole from six or seven feet, and the hole is halved in bogey fives against Lowry and Straka.
07:15 AM BST
Rahm drains his birdie putt on the third!
He rolls one in from the front fringe, some 25 feet or so and breaking from left to right. It never looked anywhere else. The Americans faced a lengthy par putt but Rahm’s brilliance made that academic. Hatton and Rahm one up on Scheffler and Burns thru three, and Europe now up in two matches early doors.
07:14 AM BST
Little to separate them in the third match
Both Lowry and Fowler had to chop out of the rough, so Straka and Morikawa with have 30 yard pitch shots up the gut of the green.
07:12 AM BST
Dreadful iron shot on the third by Burns
Apart from being 20 yards left and 30 yards shot, it was a decent attempt. Will leave Scheffler a difficult pitch over a bunker from the short side. Hatton’s approach also flirts with the trouble left, but comes to rest just shy of the green. A good chance for Europe and the Rahm-Hatton pair to go one up there.
07:07 AM BST
Back on the first tee in the third match…
Collin Morikawa carves his opening drive well to the right into the gallery, but it bounces down into the rough. That’s the first poor tee shot we have seen this morning.
Sepp Straka’s effort is also less than convincing, snatched left. Clears the bunker but will leave Lowry in the thick stuff.
07:05 AM BST
Hovland chips in on the first!
It used to be said that Hovland could not chip, but from the back fringe on the first he showed a delicate touch to send the European fans wild and put blue on the board.
Hovland decided to chip rather than putt in order to lift the ball over a slope, and it proved to be a great decision. This Hovland-Aberg pairing could be electric.
The first moment of magic of this Ryder Cup and it comes from Hovland. USA cannot match the birdie, Europe one up in the second match.
07:01 AM BST
All business between the two captains
06:57 AM BST
A well played second hole…
Rahm and Scheffler with two cracking iron shots on the par four second after Burns and Hatton found the fairway, with the Americans slightly inside Rahm. Birdie putts from around 15 to 20 feet coming up for Burns and Hatton, but Burns will get a read.
06:54 AM BST
There have been some boos for the Americans
This booing on the first tee for the Americans is not what golf is about. Hope this all stays – just about – on the right side of the line.
06:53 AM BST
Homa and Hovland in position A
Homa splits the fairway with a nerveless drive, and Hovland smokes one 15 yards or so past him with a lovely soft draw. They would have gone to bed hoping for two tee shots like that.
06:51 AM BST
The all-Scandinavian pairing are on the first tee…
Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland are a popular pairing with the fans, and you would struggle to find two better drivers of the ball, so they should be a formidable foursomes partnership in spite of their inexperience.
They are up against Max Homa and Brian Harman. Homa might be a rookie but is a classy ball-striker, while Open champion Harman is exactly the sort of nuggety player who suits matchplay.
06:47 AM BST
Scheffler scares the hole with his chip!
Bunted one forward off his back foot, and his ball checked on the second bounce before releasing towards the hole. It looked like it had a chance of going in six feet out, but burned the left lip. Great touch from Scheffler and that’s a USA par.
Rahm’s birdie putt is a bit of a lag, but that’s a safe half. All square as they walk to the second tee.
06:43 AM BST
Hatton safely aboard the first green
The Englishman’s iron shot was right on line and settles around 25 feet short of the hole. Rahm will have an outside birdie chance but it is uphill.
Burns’ approach from the semi-rough does not make the journey, so the Americans will need to chip and putt for a par. Not a difficult up and down, but advantage Europe.
06:41 AM BST
The latest from our golf correspondent in Rome
Just watched Burns practising his chipping, before the long walk. Looked very cool. Scheffler will take the first driver, however. The world No 1 teeing off golf’s greatest show.
06:38 AM BST
Scheffler and Rahm get the Ryder Cup started
Not a breath of wind at Marco Simone and the sun is starting to break through.
A few pantomime boos for Scheffler and Burns as they are announced on the first tee.
Scheffler and Rahm have pulled driver, so it looks like they will be taking the odd numbered tee shots.
Scheffler is first up, and a hush falls. His drive hugs the left side and does not peel into his customary fade, coming to settle in the first cut of rough.
Here comes Rahm. He sets up for a fade and this one does turn from left to right, and the soft morning conditions means it stops short of the right bunker. Well positioned in the fairway and a good angle into the back left pin for Hatton.
06:33 AM BST
Rahm and Hatton are now on the first tee
A roar of support rings around the amphitheatre that surrounds the first tee. Here come Burns and Scheffler. We await to see who will hit the opening tee shot. Remember, in foursomes one European will tee off on the odd numbered holes and one on the evens.
06:26 AM BST
Just 10 minutes until the opening tee shots
Italian vice-captain Edoardo Molinari is down on the first tee geeing up the crowd, and Luke Donald has just joined him. Cries of “Luuuuukkkkee” from the European crowd, which always sounds a bit like booing, but fear not they are cheering him.
06:22 AM BST
What the players face at Marco Simone
Three chunky par fours to start with before some birdie chances. The opener winds its way uphill and slightly from right to left, but it is a fairly generous tee shot, if there can ever be such a thing under Ryder Cup pressure. You can view all of the holes at Marco Simone with our course guide.
06:16 AM BST
The grandstands around the first tee are filling up
06:10 AM BST
The players are on the range
They arrived in darkness at Marco Simone this morning. Rory McIlroy looked sprightly as he arrived in gym gear, but Tyrrell Hatton looked in need of the coffee he was carrying. It’s before 9am local time so he will not be rebuked by the locals for drinking a cappuccino.
06:08 AM BST
American Jamiroquai fans?
06:06 AM BST
Fans running through the gates to gain a vantage point
06:04 AM BST
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05:52 AM BST
Growing confidence behind Europe’s chances
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the 2023 Ryder Cup as Europe seek to keep the famous golf trophy on this side of the Atlantic following a bruising defeat at Whistling Straits two years ago.
That USA victory looked like it might usher in an era of dominance – and that could still prove the case – but shrewd golf watchers have grown ever more bullish about Europe’s chances over the last 12 months. Captain Luke Donald must have wondered where the new blood was going to emerge from as the likes of Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey slipped off the scene for a variety of reasons.
But Europe now boasts the World No 2, 3 and 4 in Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland, who won three times in America this year on his way to winning the FedEx Cup. Matt Fitzpatrick won last year’s US Open, while his fellow Englishmen Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood have enjoyed consistent seasons. Former Italian Open winners Bob MacIntyre and Nicolai Hojgaard earned captain’s picks in part due to their course form at Marco Simone. Prodigious talent Ludvig Aberg was one of Donald’s other picks and heads out alongside Hovland in this morning’s foursomes.
This are the morning matches:
6:35am: Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns vs Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton
6:50am: Max Homa and Brian Harman vs Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland
7:05am: Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa vs Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka
7:20am: Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay vs Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood
Speaking about sending Rahm and Hatton out first, Donald said: “They are very passionate. I think Jon feeds off a playing partner with a similar kind of fire and passion. He wants to feel like he’s out there with a team-mate that’s really engaged with him. Tyrrell really fits that bill.
“The Ryder Cup means a lot to both of those, I found that out over the last couple of weeks. Jon was really inspired by the Ryder Cup back in ‘97. It was the first time he really came to golf – the Ryder Cup at Valderrama.
“I think their personalities match up, the statistics point towards a very strong partnership.”
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