What are foursomes and fourballs?
- Published
Foursomes and fourballs are two of the three match formats in use during the Ryder Cup.
In both formats two members of the Europe and United States teams face each other, but under slightly different rules.
Foursomes, played in the morning of day one and day two, involve teams sharing one ball and both players taking alternate shots.
Fourballs are different in that all four players play with their own ball on that hole, with the best-performing player winning the hole for their team. They are played in the afternoon on day one and two.
The host captain can choose whether to play foursomes or fourballs first at the start of each day.
Wins in the foursomes, fourballs and Sunday's singles matches are all worth one point for their team, while draws see both teams earn half a point each.
This format has been in use for the Ryder Cup since 1979, which was also the first in which Europe featured as a team. The United States previously played Great Britain and later, Great Britain and Ireland, in the competition.
Get in touch
Send us your questions
How are pairs selected?
Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick played together in fourballs on both days of the 2023 Ryder Cup
Four matches of foursomes and fourballs are played each day, meaning eight of each team's 12 players are used in both of the sessions across Friday and Saturday.
The pairings are selected by each team's captains, who decide which order their teams go out in across the two formats.
Selections can be based on a range of factors, including relationships between players, how the two players' styles compliment each other, and favouring players who perform better in either foursomes or fourballs.
In 2023, Europe duo Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland, and American duo Max Homa and Brian Harman played together in three of the four pairs sessions.
Thanks to Isaac Wood in Middlewich for the question.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
What is Ask Me Anything?
Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.
We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.
The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.
We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting events.
Our coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio.