Ryder Cup: How does fourballs work?

The opening days of the Ryder Cup can be crucial heading into Sunday singles, so how do fourballs work?

Each of the first two days of the biennial clash features one four-match session of fourball and one four-match session of foursomes.

The two can be easily mistaken, but fourball, hence the name, is where each member of a two-man team plays his own ball, so four balls are in play on every hole.

Each team counts the lowest of its two scores on each hole, and the team whose player has the lowest score wins the hole.

In the event of the low scores being tied, the hole is halved. By the end of the match, the winning team will earn their side one point, with matches ending in a tie worth half a point to each side.

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The Ryder Cup, which first took place in 1927, comprises 28 matches in total across three days, and eight matches are played on Friday and Saturday. Half of those matches will be fourballs, meaning four are played each day.

The key idea behind fourballs is to encourage each team to play in a way that should allow the collective team to score better than what the players would have individually.

However, it is not a case of both individuals simply playing for themselves, as players must watch what their partner produces, to potentially offer a different upcoming shot.

Since the inception of the Ryder Cup, 229 fourball matches have been contested, and Team USA boast bragging rights.

The United States has won 102 fourball matches compared to Europe’s 88 wins, while 39 matches have ended in a halve.

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In total, that has equated to 121.5 points for the USA compared to 107.5 points for Europe.

Both sides can thank some of golf’s greatest players for their records in fourball matches, and a famous Team Europe pairing has the record for most fourball wins.

Spain’s Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal joined forces 15 times throughout their Ryder Cup careers, and earned 5.5 points in fourballs, with five wins, one halve, and one loss.

It’s a format that America’s Jordan Spieth likes, as he has enjoyed fourballs success with Patrick Reed and Justin Thomas.

Spieth has a record of three wins and one loss with Reed, and is unbeaten in fourballs with Thomas, thanks to two wins.