Team Europe leads the 42nd Ryder Cup 10-6 heading into Sunday's Singles matchups. Team USA came back after losing the morning Four-ball session 3-1 to split the afternoon Foursomes to give themselves a chance to end their winless drought on European soil. USA will need to win 8 points on Sunday if they want to defend the Cup. Sunday's Singles matches: 6:05 a.m. ET: Rory McIlroy vs. Justin Thomas 6:17 a.m. ET: Paul Casey vs. Brooks Koepka 6:29 a.m. ET: Justin Rose vs. Webb Simpson 6:41 a.m. ET: Jon Rahm vs. Tiger Woods 6:53 a.m. ET: Tommy Fleetwood vs. Tony Finau 7:05 a.m. ET: Ian Poulter vs. Dustin Johnson 7:17 a.m. ET: Thorbjørn Olesen vs. Jordan Spieth 7:29 a.m. ET: Sergio Garcia vs. Rickie Fowler 7:41 a.m. ET: Francesco Molinari vs. Phil Mickelson 7:53 a.m. ET: Tyrrell Hatton vs. Patrick Reed 8:05 a.m. ET: Henrik Stenson vs. Bubba Watson 8:17 a.m. ET: Alex Noren vs. Bryson DeChambeau Here's a closer look at each matchup: Match 1: Rory McIlroy, Europe vs. Justin Thomas, USA A mouth-watering blockbuster opener of two former FedExCup winners to get the chase for the Cup underway. It is the second straight Ryder Cup where McIlroy has opened up Sunday after his epic battle with Patrick Reed in 2016. That one did not fall McIlroy’s way and Thomas will look to be the new Captain America in his singles debut. The American showed plenty of fire in his team play, going 3-1 with Jordan Spieth. Thomas lost to Hideki Matsuyama in his Presidents Cup singles debut last year. Rory McIlroy Overall Ryder Cup Record: 11-8-4 Singles Record: 2-1-1 Justin Thomas Overall Ryder Cup Record: 3-1-0 Singles Record: Yet to play Match 2: Paul Casey, Europe vs. Brooks Koepka, USA It has been 10 years since Paul Casey was part of a Ryder Cup team and boy has he appreciated the return. The emotion has been clear to see but as he said Saturday … it’s not about just making the team, it is about contributing. He will have his work cut out on Sunday going up against the current U.S. Open and PGA Championship winner in Koepka. This season on the PGA TOUR Koepka showed an advantage off the tee while Casey did so into the green. At the end of the day the guy who makes his putts will take it out on this tight layout. Paul Casey Overall Ryder Cup Record: 4-3-4 Singles Record: 1-1-1 Brooks Koepka Overall Ryder Cup Record: 4-3-0 Singles Record: 1-0-0 Match 3: Justin Rose, Europe vs. Webb Simpson, USA Two former U.S. Open champions come together here. It’s a huge ask for Simpson to take on Rose, who boasts current form good enough to have won the FedExCup last week. But this is a pivotal early match for the USA if they are to mount an epic comeback so he will look to his PLAYERS Championship win earlier this season, where he was a dominant force, on a course many are likening to TPC Sawgrass. Justin Rose Overall Ryder Cup Record: 13-7-2 Singles Record: 2-1-1 Webb Simpson Overall Ryder Cup Record: 3-4-1 Singles Record: 0-1-1 Match 4: Jon Rahm, Europe vs. Tiger Woods, USA So far this Ryder Cup has not gone to plan for either man in this battle. Woods has struck up a 0-3 record in team play while Rahm’s debut has yielded an 0-2 record. They each have a chance to redeem themselves here. Only Phil Mickelson, with 21, has more losses in the Ryder Cup than Woods. He won’t want to potentially tie that record. Coming off his win at the TOUR Championship Woods hasn’t maintained the rage – but to be fair he has run into incredible golf from Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari. Rahm has failed to play his best consistently in Paris and will need to up his approach game to match Woods in this one. Jon Rahm Overall Ryder Cup Record: 0-2-0 Singles Record: Yet to play Tiger Woods Overall Ryder Cup Record: 13-20-3 Singles Record: 4-1-2 Match 5: Tommy Fleetwood, Europe vs. Tony Finau, USA This one pits two Ryder Cup rookies against each other. Can Finau be the first to halt Fleetwood’s epic efforts? The Englishman is already the new record holder for most points earned by a European rookie after his 4-0-0 performance in the opening two days. He could become just the second rookie of all time to go 5-0-0 if he can best Finau. But the American has been pretty solid himself in his first foray into senior team golf. He was part of a clutch comeback on Day 1 and almost produced another on Day 2. Still, the way the long haired Fleetwood has been striping it … it’s going to take his best efforts. Tommy Fleetwood Overall Ryder Cup Record: 4-0-0 Singles Record: Yet to play Tony Finau Overall Ryder Cup Record: 1-1-0 Singles Record: Yet to play Match 6: Ian Poulter, Europe, vs. Dustin Johnson, USA Two men with unbeaten singles records at the Ryder Cup will be out to inflict the first loss on the other here. On paper Johnson seemingly has the edge but Poulter has always gained an extra leg playing for Europe. The power game of Johnson is negated around most of Le Golf National so he will have to dial up his accuracy in this encounter. For Poulter the game plan is simple … fairways, greens, and dial up his Ryder Cup putting prowess from the past. With Johnson still experimenting with a cross hand grip on the greens this is a great chance for Poulter to take down the world No. 1. Ian Poulter Overall Ryder Cup Record: 12-7-2 Singles Record: 4-0-1 Dustin Johnson Overall Ryder Cup Record: 7-8-0 Singles Record: 3-0-0<doc-sep>It will take a miracle for the United States to defend its title and retain its trophy at the 2018 Ryder Cup, but that's clearly what the Americans will shoot for Sunday morning when they attempt to overcome a four-point deficit, the largest margin a team has ever come back from at the Ryder Cup. Europe leads 10-6 entering the final day of action at Le Golf National in Paris, riding a scoring streak of eight straight points to a four-point advantage and holding onto it through the end of the day on Saturday. There are some fascinating singles matchups in play Sunday, especially early in the day. With 12 points at stake and no lead safe (two of the last three teams to lead 10-6 have lost), the Americans should feel good about putting a lot of red on the board early and possibly getting going downhill for the second half of the day. Here's a look at the tee times and pairings for the third session on Sunday. All times Eastern Europe Tee time United States Rory McIlroy 6:05 a.m. Justin Thomas Paul Casey 6:17 a.m. Brooks Koepka Justin Rose 6:29 a.m. Webb Simpson Jon Rahm 6:41 a.m. Tiger Woods Tommy Fleetwood 6:53 a.m. Tony Finau Ian Poulter 7:05 a.m. Dustin Johnson Thorbjorn Olesen 7:17 a.m. Jordan Spieth Sergio Garcia 7:29 a.m. Rickie Fowler Francesco Molinari 7:41 a.m. Phil Mickelson Tyrrell Hatton 7:53 a.m. Patrick Reed Henrik Stenson 8:05 a.m. Bubba Watson Alex Noren 8:17 a.m. Bryson DeChambeau Thomas-McIlroy is the obvious headliner, but Rahm-Tiger, Sergio-Fowler and Fleetwood-Finau all reek of instant classics, too. Mickelson-Molinari, not so much. It will likely all come down to what happens in the first five matches, which is how it usually goes. If you're looking for a U.S. victory, it could go something like this. Thomas, Koepka and Simpson dust McIlroy, Casey and Rose respectively and pull the thing to within 10-9. Woods splits with Rahm to make it 10.5-9.5. Fleetwood takes Finau to cement his legacy and make it 11.5-9.5. Then D.J, Spieth and Fowler rip off three straight to make it 12.5-11.5 for the Yanks. Mickelson bows out, and we're tied. Watson and Stenson split in a pillow fight, and DeChambeau and Noren swing plane one another to death. That would make it 13.5-13.5, and it would come down to Reed and Hatton. Oh boy, I hope it comes down to Reed and Hatton for the Ryder Cup. For all the poor shots he's hit this week, you know Reed would rise to the occasion and run straight for the trophy after ending poor Hatton's first appearance as viciously as humanly possible. Vive la France, let it go like this on Sunday. 2018 Ryder Cup schedule of events All times Eastern Day 3 -- Sunday, Sept. 30 Singles: 6 a.m. Live TV coverage: 6 a.m. - 1 p.m. on NBC Live stream online: 6 a.m. - 1 p.m. on RyderCup.com Trophy presentation / closing ceremony: Live on RyderCup.com Post-match press conferences: Live on RyderCup.com<doc-sep>
Team Europe took control of the Ryder Cup on Saturday by winning five of the eight matches to put Team USA in a massive hole heading into singles play. Through two days, Team Europe leads 10-6 – but both the Americans (in 1999 at Brookline) and Europeans (in 2012 at Medinah) have overcome four-point deficits on the final day. To win the Ryder Cup, Team Europe needs 4.5 points from the 12 singles matches. To retain the Cup, Team USA needs 8 points. You won’t have to wake up quite as early to catch all the action from Le Golf National on Sunday. TV coverage will begin at 6:00 a.m. ET on NBC. The first match of the day, Justin Thomas vs. Rory McIlroy, will begin at 6:05 a.m. ET. Here are the exact tee times for Sunday’s session: 6:05 a.m. ET: Justin Thomas vs. Rory McIlroy 6:17 a.m. ET: Paul Casey vs. Brooks Koepka 6:29 a.m. ET: Webb Simpson vs. Justin Rose 6:41 a.m. ET: Tiger Woods vs. Jon Rahm 6:53 a.m. ET: Tony Finau vs. Tommy Fleetwood 7:05 a.m. ET: Dustin Johnson vs. Ian Poulter 7:17 a.m. ET: Jordan Spieth vs. Thorbjorn Olesen 7:29 a.m. ET: Rickie Fowler vs. Sergio Garcia 7:41 a.m. ET: Phil Mickelson vs. Francesco Molinari 7:53 a.m. ET: Patrick Reed vs. Tyrrell Hatton 8:05 a.m. ET: Bubba Watson vs. Henrik Stenson 8:17 a.m. ET: Bryson DeChambeau vs. Alex Noren Team Europe has three undefeated golfers at Ryder Cup this week, and the duo of Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood became the first European pair to go a perfect 4-0 in Ryder Cup history. After Day 2: 🇪🇺 4-0-0 Fleetwood, Molinari 2-0-0 Stenson 2-1-0 Garcia, Rose 2-2-0 Rory 1-1-0 Casey, Hatton, Noren 1-2-0 Poulter 0-1-0 Olesen 0-2-0 Rahm 🇺🇸 3-1-0 Spieth, Thomas 1-1-0 Finau, Simpson, Bubba 1-2-0 Fowler, Koepka 1-3-0 DJ 0-1-0 Phil 0-2-0 Bryson, Reed 0-3-0 Woods pic.twitter.com/khN0uzGg15 — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 29, 2018