SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — The U.S. Ryder Cup team already knows this week’s pairings. But everyone else is eager to find out more. So when Tiger Woods teed off in Tuesday’s practice round alongside Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed, it sparked intrigue as to this week’s potential teammates.
“They are very aware of who they will be playing with this week,” captain Jim Furyk said Tuesday morning. “They are very aware of some of the options they have, and they will work on that a lot in the team room and they will work on that a lot in the next couple days.”
Still, he suggested fans and media stay away from drawing conclusions from Tuesday’s groups.
“There may be some pairings out there and there’s some groups there isn’t,” he said. “Just want them concentrating on their own game right now.”
Mickelson was reportedly practicing with a Bridgestone ball in advance of last week’s Tour Championship, which would suggest a pairing with either Woods and/or DeChambeau. And while Furyk called a Tiger-Phil pairing “not a good idea” over the summer, something may have changed.
Or, as Furyk suggests, perhaps these pairings are more random, mixing in players who are new to the course (Woods, Reed and DeChambeau, in this case) with those more familiar (Mickelson). Whatever the purpose, the foursome seemed to be enjoying themselves on a sunny morning at Le Golf National. You can see photos below.
