Ryder Cup newcomer Viktor Hovland has waxed enthusiastic on the possibility of partnering with Rory McIlroy, but European captain Padraig Harrington – like US counterpart Steve Stricker – is keeping his precise pairing plans close to his chest.
Hovland (24) said he thought he’d mesh well with McIlroy, the four-time Major winner who will be playing in his sixth Ryder Cup when Europe launch the defence of their title won in France in 2018.
“I think we’ve got a lot of the same strengths and kind of personality-wise we think a lot alike,” Hovland said. “I’ve grown up in Europe. We play tons of matchplay and we play tons of foursomes in miscellaneous events.
“I have some experience doing that, and I very much like it. I like to compete with someone and be on a team.”
Hovland practised on Tuesday alongside veterans McIlroy, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood at Whistling Straits, where the 43rd Ryder Cup tees off on Friday.
Whether that was an indicator of likely pairings for Friday’s foursomes and fourball matches remains to be seen, even if Harrington has a pretty good idea of his plans.
“I wouldn’t think a lot is changing in my head and my vice-captains’ heads between now and Friday, no,” Harrington said, although the big reveal won’t come until Thursday evening, when the opening ceremony arrives and the pairings for Friday are announced.
Foursomes can be the trickiest teams to put together. But US captain Steve Stricker has a couple of proven combinations in the alternate-shot format should he choose to use them.
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth beat McIlroy and Ian Poulter 4&3 in foursomes three years ago in Paris, where the US duo were 3-1 together overall.
Ryder Cup rookies Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele won both of their foursomes matches at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia.
“I think we always tend to try to look for guys with similar game styles or game styles that would complement the other player,” Stricker said. “Good putting always is a big key, I think, in alternate-shot.”
Stricker said he came into the week “pretty set in my mind” after doing his homework on his players, talking to them and to his vice-captains.
“You’ve always got to be prepared for the what ifs. So that’s what we’re doing, as well,” he said. “But, yeah, we’ve had a pretty good gameplan from a while back, and we’re putting that into play.”
As to what that might mean in terms of actual pairings, Stricker said: “I guess you’re going to have to tune in on Friday to watch.”
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© Agence France-Presse
