rewrite this title Ryder Cup 2025 live: First pairings to be announced after Donald hits out at Team USA

It’s been a fine year for the Europeans, with Rory McIlroy’s Masters victory and career grand slam a standout moment and Tommy Fleetwood overcoming repeated heartache to triumph at the Tour Championship and secure the FedEx Cup in his first-ever PGA Tour victory.

Here’s a reminder of the European team for this year’s tournament, featuring six Brits alongside Irishman Shane Lowry.

There’s quite the Scandinavian contingent too, with Rasmus Hojgaard, Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland from Denmark, Sweden and Norway respectively.

Spaniard Jon Rahm and Austrian Sepp Straka make up the rest of Team Europe.

Here’s a brief reminder of the schedule and format ahead of the action getting started tomorrow:

Day 1: Friday 26 September

Four foursome (alternate shot) matches in the morning: 7:10am ET (12:10pm BST), 7:26am ET (12:26pm BST), 7:42am ET (12:42pm BST), 7:58am ET (12:58pm BST).

Four fourball (better ball) matches in the afternoon: 12:25pm ET (5:25pm BST), 12:41pm ET (5:41pm BST), 12:57pm ET (5:57pm BST), 1:13pm (6:13pm BST).

The competition lasts three days and the first two days, Friday and Saturday, see the players battle it out over foursomes (alternate shot) and fourballs (better ball). The action concludes on Sunday with 12 singles matches.

Each match offers up one point, though the point can be halved if the match is tied after 18 holes, resulting in each team winning half a point.

The players involved in foursomes (alternate shot) and fourballs (better ball) will be announced shortly before each session, with every player tasked with competing in a singles match on Sunday.

In the UK, you can also watch the action unfold live on Sky Sports Main Event and with rolling 24-hour coverage on Sky Sports Golf. A live stream on NOW TV.

In the US, fans can watch the action on USA Network and NBC. USA Network will have exclusive coverage of Friday’s action before it switches to NBC for the weekend. A live stream will be available via the NBC Sports app or Peacock.

The Independent will also bring you full coverage from Bethpage Black, with hole-by-hole updates, scores and results in our Ryder Cup live blogs.

Luke Donald is targeting “Ryder Cup folklore” as he aims to lead Europe to a rare away victory.

Donald, who masterminded success in Rome in 2023, could become just the second European captain after Tony Jacklin to win the competition home and away if his side can get over the line at Bethpage Black this week.

But European victories on this side of the Atlantic do not happen often.

Indeed, their only win on American soil in the last 20 years came courtesy of the ‘Miracle of Medinah’ in 2012, when Jose Maria Olazabal’s side overturned a 10-6 deficit on the final day.

So when will the players be talking to the world’s media today? We’ve got eight members of Team Europe and six players from Team USA lined up, including Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau who will undoubtedly be asked about their ongoing beef.

It’s all building up to captains Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley announcing their pairings for Friday morning later this afternoon/evening (depending on your timezone)

Today’s full media schedule:

A raucous New York crowd awaits Europe at Bethpage Black, with the potential to swing the Ryder Cup back to the USA, but Luke Donald’s players have prepared meticulously to combat the noise.

Tommy Fleetwood accepts that Rory McIlroy is likely to be one of the European players to be “public target No 1” at this week’s Ryder Cup, after giving some talk to the Team USA players ahead of the clash at Bethpage.

But Fleetwood says he would love the opportunity to play alongside the Masters champion and embrace the atmosphere he can bring.

“I think whoever gets to play with Rory this week, like what a privilege. What an amazing thing to be able to do, to stand next to him on the golf course and play alongside him. He’s one of if not the greatest players of our generation.

“The energy that I think he has, that he brings to your team, that he brings to the Ryder Cup, I think is amazing. I think it’s great.

“If I’m one of them that gets a chance to play with him, I would love that opportunity. And whatever energy he decides to bring, I’ll be there to support him and be a good partner for him.”