Rory McIlroy helped secure Europe's first ever clean sweep of a morning session at a Ryder Cup as the hosts raced into a 4-0 lead over the United States after the Friday foursomes in Rome.
Viktor Hovland set the tone at golf's leading team event with a chip-in on the first hole, while Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton clinched the first point with a dominant 4 and 3 win over world number one Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns.
European captain Luke Donald had opted to switch the usual schedule and open with the alternate shot foursomes instead of fourballs in the hope of a"fast start" -- and his team delivered it in style. US skipper Zach Johnson responded to the morning mauling by naming stars Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, who he had surprisingly left out for the foursomes, as his opening afternoon fourballs duo.
Rahm's biggest highlight was a near hole-in-one on the par-three seventh, with his tee shot hitting the pin but just staying out.Norwegian Hovland and Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg, who is the first golfer to be selected for a Ryder Cup without playing in a major championship, cruised to another 4 and 3 victory against Max Homa and Brian Harman.
But the home pair inflicted Schauffele and Cantlay's first foursomes defeat in international competition after five previous successive wins. Johnson needs a quick response to fight back the European tide and he will be hoping Spieth, Thomas, Koepka and US Open winner Wyndham Clark can provide the spark.
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