Team Europe took to Le Golf National together for the first time ahead of The 2018 Ryder Cup on Tuesday morning, but what did we learn from the fourballs Captain Thomas Bjørn assembled for the first day of practice?
First off from the tenth tee at just after 10 in the morning local time were Sergio Garcia, Alex Noren, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose.
Garcia and Noren were paired together as they took on the successful and experienced Ryder Cup duo of Stenson and Rose, with all of the European practice groups playing fourballs.
Sergio in particular was in high spirits, while Noren, a friend of the Spaniard’s from their time on the European Tour, got his first taste of what life at The Ryder Cup is like.
Next off for Team Europe were the quartet of Paul Casey, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Thorbjørn Olesen, with the former two taking on the latter two in another match that was full of high spirits and laughs.
Casey and Rahm both looked solid and happy playing together, with the weather conditions sunny and clear, while Olesen must have cherished making his Ryder Cup bow alongside McIlroy.
The final fourball Bjørn sent out consisted of Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari, Ian Poulter and Tyrrell Hatton.
Fleetwood, the 2017 Race to Dubai winner, was paired alongside The Open Champion Molinari to form a seriously strong ball-striking duo, while Ryder Cup legend Poulter had his English compatriot Hatton for company over nine holes this morning.
