THE 41st Ryder Cup is set to kick off in style with the reigning British Open champion and Olympic Gold medallist to take on Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed in the first of the Friday foursomes matches at Hazeltine.

Partners for each of the opening four foursomes matches have been released and match one features Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson taking on Team USA’s Spieth and Reed in the alternate-shot format.

The second match is equally as mouthwatering, with Team Europe representatives Rory McIlroy and Englishman Andy Sullivan to face off with the superstar US pairing Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler.

Match three will be incredibly interesting with the emotional Sergio Garcia teaming up with ice-cool Martin Kaymer to take on the rock solid duo of Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson.

The last of the Friday foursomes features Ryder Cup rookie Thomas Pieters with veteran Lee Westwood squaring off with the formidable team of big-hitting Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar.

The Friday foursomes format sees teams of two players alternate shots until the hole is finished. Within each two-man team, one player tees off on even holes and the other on odd numbers. The team with the lowest score on each hole wins, but if the scores are tied the hole is halved.

The tee times for the Friday afternoon four-ball matches – where each golfer plays as an individual and thus ‘four balls’ are in play – will be released near the conclusion of the morning foursomes matches.

Match 1 (7:35 a.m. CT): Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson (EUR) vs. Jordan Spieth/Patrick Reed (USA)

Match 2 (7:50 a.m. CT): Rory McIlroy/Andy Sullivan (EUR) vs. Phil Mickelson/Rickie Fowler (USA)

Match 3 (8:05 a.m. CT): Sergio Garcia/Martin Kaymer (EUR) vs. Jimmy Walker/Zach Johnson (USA)

Match 4 (8:20 a.m. CT): Thomas Pieters/Lee Westwood vs. Dustin Johnson/Matt Kuchar (USA)