Ryder Cup 2023: Tee Times, TV Schedule, Pairings and Predictions for Saturday

Team Europe had an extraordinary opening day at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy, to kick off the 2023 Ryder Cup on Friday, taking a commanding five-point lead (6.5 to 1.5) over Team USA heading into Saturday's action.

In the morning foursomes, Europe won all four matches led by Spaniard Jon Rahm and Englishman Tyrrell Hatton easing by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns 4&3. Norwegian Viktor Hovland and Swede Ludvig Åberg posted the same result over Max Homa and Brian Harman to give the Europeans an early 2-0 lead.

The final matches were more of a competition, but the European pairings of Irishman Shane Lowry and Austrian Sepp Straka and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood defeated the U.S. pairings of Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, respectively, 2&1.

Team USA needed a mighty resurgence in the afternoon four balls, and while it seemed the pairing of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas would get the Americans on the board, the European pairing of Hovland and Hatton holed a birdie putt on the 18th to walk away with a tie.

Scheffler and Brooks Koepka then played Rahm and Nicolai Højgaard to a tie. Max Homa and Wyndham Clark also tied Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose before McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick claimed a 5&3 win over the U.S.'s Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

Team Europe's five-point lead is the largest for either side after Day 1 in Ryder Cup history. Friday is also the first time Team USA completed the first day without winning a match.

The Americans will need a big Saturday if they hope to truly compete for Ryder Cup glory. Here's a look at the tee times and pairings for Day 2 of action:

• Match 1, 1:35 a.m. ET: Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood (EUR)
• Match 2, 1:50 a.m. ET: Scottie Scheffler/Brooks Koepka (USA) vs. Viktor Hovland/Ludvig Aberg (EUR)
• Match 3, 2:05 a.m. ET: Max Homa/Brian Harman (USA) vs. Shane Lowry/Sepp Straka (EUR)
• Match 4, 2:20 a.m. ET: Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (USA) vs. Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton (EUR)

The U.S. pairings of Thomas and Spieth and Scheffler and Koepka have arguably the best chance to get some points back for the Americans on Saturday when they meet Europe's McIlroy and Fleetwood and Hovland and Åberg, respectively.

However, McIlroy, ranked No. 2 in the world, is the most experienced player on either side and figures to give the Americans a good battle again on Day 2 alongside his partner in Fleetwood.

Match 4 could present some issues for the Americans as the pairing of Rahm, ranked No. 3 in the world, and Hatton should put some significant pressure on Cantlay and Schauffele.

Team Europe entered this year's Ryder Cup favored to win it all, and after jumping out to such a significant lead on Friday, there's little doubt that they'll nail down the victory for the first time since 2018.