Scottie Scheffler endured a frustrating start to the 2025 Ryder Cup, losing his foursomes opener alongside Russell Henley.
Much to the shock and disappointment of the American fans, Scheffler and Henley were defeated 5&3 by Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick.
That arrived after Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton gave Europe a 1-0 lead, with Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood extending that to 2-0.
Close friends Aberg and Fitzpatrick made it 3-0 shortly after, leaving the visitors with 11 points to retain the Ryder Cup.
It was a dream start for European captain Luke Donald, and it leaves USA captain Keegan Bradley with plenty of work to do moving forward.
Scottie Scheffler makes comment on Russell Henley after their heavy Ryder Cup foursomes loss
Henley is good friends with Scheffler, with the latter referencing the former in the aftermath of their disappointing loss.
Asked to summarise his opening efforts, the world number one said: “I felt like Russ and I did some good things.
“We just didn’t hole enough putts early. We had some chances. I think the putts just didn’t fall.
“But overall, the guys we played, they played a really good round, and go back out this afternoon and see what we can do.”
Why did Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley struggle against Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick?
It was a very disappointing morning for Scheffler and Henley, who simply never got going against their European counterparts.
The former entered the tournament in stunning form, having claimed six wins during the 2025 PGA Tour season.
But Henley, who won once in 2025, also impressed, and is currently behind only Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in the world rankings.
There was plenty of promise for their pairing to go superbly, but it just didn’t transpire in Friday’s second foursomes session.
The fact that it was Henley’s debut may have played a part, with nerves having undoubtedly been a factor for every player involved early on given the circumstances.
But heavy rain in New York also likely worked against the American, who certainly isn’t the biggest hitter of the ball.
Scheffler, however, was certainly nowhere near the player he can be, although the world number one does have huge pressure on his shoulders to impress.
He experienced similar struggles at the 2023 Ryder Cup, with Scheffler and Brooks Koepka losing 9&7 to Aberg and Viktor Hovland in their Saturday foursomes match.
It is, of course, early days at Bethpage Black, but the USA will need a big recovery in the Friday fourballs session to get back on track.
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