Ryder Cup 2023 live updates: Team USA vs. Team Europe at Marco Simone

Finally, it’s showtime. The 44th Ryder Cup is upon us.

The host course, Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, is a public-access layout with tee times available on the course’s website starting at 190 Euros for international players. The course will play to a par of 71 with the scorecard showing 7,181 yards.

It’s likely the host European team will adjust yardages in an attempt to benefit itself. The rough is deep and thick, putting an emphasis on accurate tee shots to relatively tight fairways.

The Americans, led by captain Zach Johnson, are trying to win on foreign soil for the first time since 1993. Team Europe, meanwhile, is hoping an influx of young talent will help captain Luke Donald reverse a lopsided loss at Whistling Straits in 2021.

For more info on players, scoring, schedule and course data, check out our Ryder Cup hub.

Paul Azinger says Euros 'are the favorite by a mile'

NBC lead analyst Paul Azinger, who was the winning U.S. captain at home in 2008, said he couldn’t believe the U.S. is being judged as the favorite.

“The Euros are the favorite by a mile,” Azinger said. “They have the home course advantage, and that’s becoming a huge thing.

“This is an emotional event for the players,” he continued. “It means the world to them. I think for Europe it’s immeasurable what it means for them to win the Ryder Cup. I think it’s more measurable for the Americans. I always feel that Europe should be the favorite in these events.”

Azinger’s thoughts weren’t echoed by everyone, though. Here’s what others had to say about who should be the Ryder Cup favorite.

— Adam Schupak

Can Rory McIlroy lead Team Europe to victory?

Sergio Garcia – gone. Ian Poulter – gone. Lee Westwood – gone.

He might not be the oldest player on the roster – Justin Rose at 43 is – but this is Rory McIlroy’s team.

This will be the seventh time he puts on the Blue and Yellow, and now he has to take the reins.

Across McIlroy’s first six appearances, he’s gone 12-12-4 and 3-2-1 in Sunday singles. Nothing to turn your nose up at, but probably not good enough in his eyes.

The record took a beating two years ago at Whistling Straits, a week that saw McIlroy go 1-3-0 – his only win coming Sunday against Xander Schauffele – and being benched for the first time in his Ryder Cup career as he watched Saturday foursomes from the sidelines.

He gave an emotional interview afterward, letting fans across the globe know what this event means to him. The difference this time around is he’s coming into the week in fantastic form.

Since tying for 47th at the Wells Fargo Championship in early May, McIlroy has made 12 worldwide starts. He’s finished outside the top 10 once – T-16 at the Irish Open – and added a stellar come-from-behind win at the Scottish Open.

Rome is the perfect opportunity for McIlroy to put the world on notice.

This is just one of five burning questions about the Ryder Cup we’re dying to get answers for this weekend.

— Riley Hamel

Here's what players see walking to the first tee at Marco Simone

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxoCZLXvuNX/

Our columnist Eamon Lynch has been on-site at Marco Simone all week and captured a walking tour of what the entrance looks like for those who will make the trek.

—  Todd Kelly

How to watch, format schedule

For the first two days at the 2023 Ryder Cup, the matches will begin at 1:35 a.m. ET on Friday (10:35 p.m. on Thursday for those viewers on the West Coast.

It's almost time

Fans are out in force.... and the gates aren't even open

Scenes from the first tee early on Friday morning

It’s one of the coolest scenes not just in golf but all of sports, in my humble opinion, to be in the grandstands at the first tee for the start of the Ryder Cup. The songs, the cheers, the laughs. FOMO is a serious motivator to wake up for this spectacle.

European Ryder Cup vice captain Nicolas Colsaerts led a series of cheers from the first tee but the fans didn’t need much help. In the shadow of the Eternal City and with the sun rising out of the East, fans, many of them cloaked in flags from their various countries, chanted old standbys such as “I believe that we will win,” “Tommy-Tommy-Tommy,” and of course, “Ole, Ole, Ole.”

It warmed my heart to hear “We have two Molinaris,” for the brothers Edoardo and Francesco, who are both serving as vice captains in their homeland, and “Walking in a Lowry Wonderland,” had Shane’s father all smiles. It was a little under two hours of waiting to see all of four tee shots but it was glorious fun and I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow morning. — Adam Schupak

What's better: Hovland's first-hole chip in or Lowry's reaction?

Viktor Hovland was in the second match of the day alongside rookie Ludvig Aberg and gave the Euros an early lead against Max Homa and Brian Harman with a chip-in birdie on the first hole.

As if these fans needed more juice to get the day going.

The shot was impressive, don’t get me wrong, but was it better than Shane Lowry’s reaction on the first tee? You be the judge. — Adam Woodard

Why Luke Donald chose foursomes for the opening session

European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald did a strange thing by leading off with foursomes, in the opinion of many pundits, including Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee.

It’s the first time since 1993 that the European team has chosen to open the Ryder Cup with foursomes rather than fourball.

“It’s pretty simple really, we feel like as a team, statistically, we are stronger in foursomes within our team than we would be in fourballs,” Donald explained of the decision. “Why not get off to a fast start? That’s it.”

Chamblee, speaking on Golf Channel’s “Live From,” called it “a mistake.”

“It is very important to win the first session from a momentum standpoint. But it’s significantly more important to lead after the first day. If you go back to 1997 to present, starting with fourballs allowed them to end with a strength on the first day, and mostly they’ve dominated in the foursomes,” Chamblee argued. “If you win the first session, you win the Ryder Cup about 60 percent of the time. But if you win the first day, you win 70 percent of the time. So in one fell swoop, he’s potentially thrown away a 10 percent chance, which is a monumental advantage given to the European side, and I think that’s a mistake.”

For all their success in the Cup, the Euros haven’t led after an opening session since 2006. But in the last four Cups at home, the Euros have bested the Americans in the foursomes format by a score of 22.5-9.5.

It’s early but there is a lot of blue on the board – all four matches at present – so maybe Donald knew what he was doing after all. — Adam Schupak

Team Europe puts first points on the board

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton shellacked good buddies Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, 4 and 3, to put the first point on the board for the Europeans. Rahm and Hatton never trailed and the Americans won just one hole.

Just minutes later the Scandinavian pairing of Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg added a 4-and-3 win of their own over a pair of American rookies in Max Homa and Brian Harman to give the Euros an early lead in the session.

Hovland and Aberg claimed the first two holes but the Americans bounced back to square the match with wins at the third and fourth. The Euros stayed consistent with two more wins on Nos. 5 and 6 and never looked back.

And there's a third European point

Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka never trailed in their match against California kids Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa en route to a 2-and-1 win that put the third point on the board for the Europeans. The Americans made five birdies and six bogeys and didn’t put up much of a fight.

Zach Johnson reacts to Europe's perfect start

Team USA has led after the opening session of the past four Ryder Cups, but things are wildly different in Rome. After Rory McIlory stuffed his approach on the 17th, Europe put the finishing touches on a perfect 4-0 sweep.

It’s the first sweep since 2018, when Europe posted the same results in Friday afternoon foursomes.

Captain Zach Johnson said he’s confident in his team’s ability to rebound.

“Adversity is something that I relish,” said Johnson. “I know it’s something this team relishes. There’s nothing wrong when your back’s against the wall. It’s about execution. It’s about banding together It’s about going out there and fighting. This team … I’ve got fighters.”

— Beth Ann Nichols 

Friday afternoon pairings feature Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas

All 24 players are getting in on the action on Day 1 as the four players for each team who sat in the morning will feature in the afternoon, most notably the American duo of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.

Meanwhile, European captain Luke Donald hasn’t rolled out any of the same pairings from the morning sweep for the afternoon. Interesting.

Check out all four matchups here.

— Adam Woodard

Story originally appeared on GolfWeek