Sir Nick Faldo says which Ryder Cup player he would have loved to be his partner

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The Ryder Cup can be a game of matchups and partnerships, and players’ compatibility with teammates can decide matches.

Friday foursomes saw Keegan Bradley send world number one Scottie Scheffler out with Russell Henley, who ultimately lost them the match with his poor play. The same goes for Bryson DeChambeau, who was let down by Justin Thomas’ performance.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood were a dominant partnership for Europe once again. That’s priceless for Luke Donald, who has known quantities on his team for Friday morning. That’s also important for the players, who can settle into a match knowing they can trust the man beside them.

Europe’s Friday morning performance built a platform for them to take a three-point lead into Saturday. And Sir Nick Faldo saw something in one of Europe’s players that made him wish he played alongside them. 

Sir Nick Faldo said he would have loved to play with Ludvig Aberg

Ludvig Aberg dominated his Friday foursomes alongside Matt Fitzpatrick, beating Scheffler and Henley 5&3. Aberg’s form made him a worry for Donald before the Ryder Cup, but he was back to his brilliant best, which saw him hand Scheffler a record-breaking Ryder Cup loss in 2023. 

Aberg has proven he can compete on this stage, and Faldo emphasised the importance of that to Sky Sports.

He said: “Luke has obviously got a game plan for fourball and foursomes, he can put out a whole new team in a way. Shuffle guys around who you’d go, ‘Why would you split up Tommy Fleetwood and Rory?’ But they’ve got a game plan. They’ve got a new partner.

“What’s very important is you’ve got a new wingman. It’s very important one of those guys leads. I would love to have Ludvig as my wingman now.

“That’s the important part. Rahm is a wingman over Straka. Rose to Fleetwood. Aberg over Hojgaard and Rory over Shane.

“It’s really important to have a partner you know. I used to say to Lee Westwood, I’ll take the bullets, you go make the birdies.”

Faldo played 10 Ryder Cups and secured 20 points in his career for Europe. He knows exactly what makes a good teammate, so what he sees in Aberg is a positive sign for Donald and Europe moving forward.

Ludvig Aberg stumbled in leadership role during Friday fourball

In his young Ryder Cup career, Aberg is undefeated in foursomes. He’s now 3-0-0 after two wins in Rome and a Friday morning win in New York.

What Aberg is yet to prove is an ability to get it done on his own. The Swedish star didn’t secure a win in fourball and singles two years ago.

His Friday foursomes performance helped him earn an opportunity in fourball in the afternoon. Donald partnered Aberg with Europe’s only rookie, Rasmus Hojgaard, trusting him with guiding him through his first Ryder Cup experience.

That shows the trust Donald has in the 25-year-old. Typically, Hojgaard would be played alongside the likes of Justin Rose or McIlroy, whose level-headed experience would steady the ship in front of a hostile road crowd.

But Donald deemed that Aberg was the man, and perhaps regretted the decision. Aberg and Hojgaard were beaten comfortably by Justin Thomas and Cameron Young. The responsibility looked too great for someone of Aberg’s inexperience.

It was too much, too soon, for Europe’s young star.