Tyrrell Hatton rolls home his birdie putt and we already have our first splash of blue for the afternoon session.

Nice to see Jon Rahm taking Nicolai Hojgaard under his wing - quite literally - on the first tee, putting a big arm around the young Dane as they're announced to this huge crowd.

And what a way for Hojgaard to make his debut, against arguably Team USA's strongest pairing - world number one Scottie Scheffler and five-time major champion Brooks Koepka.

You can't blame Hojgaard for feeling just a little bit like a rabbit in the headlights here, but don't worry, big Jon will look after him....

How about that, Tyrrell Hatton.

At the back of the bunker, he's carved out a marvellous approach shot, spinning his ball a mere four feet from the pin.

He'll get Europe immediately on the front foot unless Justin Thomas or Jordan Spieth can drain long putts.

Image source, Getty Images

Seeing Bob MacIntyre in his Ryder Cup pyjamas summed up the excitement.

A kid on Christmas Eve vibe.

Let's hope the 27-year-old Scot managed to get some sleep before the big day.

MacIntyre is one of four European debutants and qualified for the team automatically after a season headlined by finishing second behind Rory McIlroy in the Scottish Open.

"I'm trying to have a laugh along the way and just enjoy it. I want to do this for the rest of my life. I want to play in the Ryder Cup until I retire, but who knows?" MacIntyre told BBC Sport Scotland.

"I am a sporty person. I love competing and if this is my only one it's my only one but I certainly don't want it to be. I hope I have many more to come."

This morning was Viktor Hovland's first full Ryder Cup point after he lost three and halved two in 2021.

A ropey start to this fourball though, shanked out left with his tee shot - alongside Jordan Spieth. Tyrrell Hatton goes the opposite side, only to find the fairway bunker.

Thomas the only one away without trouble.

Image source, Getty Images

Many Scottish sports fans would walk 500 miles - and would walk 500 more - to support their own.

Looks like plenty have made the journey to Rome and were even showing their love for Bob MacIntyre yesterday in practice - hope they've washed their shirts for today.

MacIntyre is the first Scot to play in the Ryder Cup since Stephen Gallacher at Gleneagles in 2014.

Image source, Getty Images

A cacophony of cheers as Tyrrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland are introduced.

Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth are two of the most popular players in the world - usually. Today, their appearance is met with heavy booing.

Adrenaline pumping, Thomas tees off first and smokes it down the middle. Off we go.

Image source, Getty Images

Justin Thomas was, in some circles, a controversial selection for the US team.

After all, he's had a really poor season by his lofty standards.

To others though, he's America's Ian Poulter. The firebrand character who never fails to deliver.

And boy do the US need him to get their team moving in this afternoon session.

They probably could have done without him facing the game's hottest player at the moment in Viktor Hovland who looked in sensational touch this morning.

We mentioned the Solheim Cup earlier and this time last week it was Europe licking their wounds after a 4-0 drubbing in the morning session.

They came fighting back in the afternoon to win 3-1 and get themselves into the competition.

That will be what US captain Zach Johnson wants - for Europe it's about keeping their foot firmly on the pedal.

Peter Scrivener
BBC Sport at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Rome

BBC Radio 5 live colleague Rory Burnand tells me there are chants of "stand up, if you're four-nil up" coming from the first tee grandstand as the fans await the players for the fourballs.

Europe captain Luke Donald said last night he was planning to use all 12 players today - and the plan has not changed.

Robert MacIntyre and Nicolai Hojgaard make their debuts, with the experienced Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick also coming in for the fourballs.

Same for Zach Johnson, who also utilises all of his team.

Matt Wallace
Four-time European Tour winner on BBC Radio 5 Live

I think those partnerships are great.

Justin Rose is a perfect partner for Bob MacIntyre and is taking the rookie under his wing. He is such a steady golfer with a quieter personality and that matches up well with the likes of myself and Bob.

It was probably always going to be in both captains' minds to get all 12 players out. It sets it up nicely for the afternoon to have four fresh players.

The lads sitting out will be on the course supporting rest of the team.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Getty Images

Rory McIlroy: "When you see the first three matches we are up quite a lot and you're in the last match, you don't want to let the side down.

"We felt like we were in control all day. The 15th was obviously a huge moment in the match when Tommy made a huge putt and Xander missed his.

"It was a great match against two really tough competitors but we are happy to get another blue point on the board."

On his stunning tee shot on the 17th: "I have been fortunate enough to hit lot of good shots in my career and to hit a shot like that when I needed to, it gives me a ton of confidence.

Tommy Fleetwood: "We played very, very well. I enjoyed being out on the course with him so much. They are obvuiously a really tough pairing to play against but the team has done an unbelievable job and we were just riding on their coattails. To finish it off and have clean sweep really feels great."

As they've just shown foursomes has always been seen as Europe's best format in the Ryder Cup.

However, to be fair, although Europe hold the edge over the USA in both of the team formats, it's actually the fourballs where they've won more sessions and points, even if in matches it is exactly the same number of wins for both - prior to this morning's session!

Foursomes

• Sessions: Europe 17-13 USA (12 halves)
• Matches: Europe 77-73 USA (18 halves)
• Points: Europe 86-82 USA

Fourballs

• Sessions: Europe 19-16 USA (7 halves)
• Matches: Europe 77-64 USA (27 halves)

• Points: Europe 90.5-77.5 USA

Encouraging for this afternoon.

Image source, Getty Images

Ludvig Aberg got his chance to shine this morning and duly delivered, can Nicolai Hojgaard follow this afternoon?

A lot of focus has been on the emergence of Aberg, but the 23-year-old Swede is not actually the youngest member of the European team - it's 22-year-old Dane Hojgaard who is the baby of the group.

Hojgaard is one of four European debutants after being picked as a wildcard by captain Luke Donald, earning his spot ahead of Poland's Adrian Meronk after a nervous wait.

Long-driving Hojgaard thought he had not done enough after missing out on the European Masters title to Aberg, but Donald - impressed by his matchplay qualities at the Hero Cup - gave him the nod.

"You got to look and see what he had inside of him in a matchplay and a team environment," Donald said.

"Certainly that went towards some of those decisions with getting him being a pick."

Robert MacIntyre is set to make his Ryder Cup debut this afternoon -and it's fair to say he's excited about it....

BBC Radio 5 Live

Solheim Cup captain Suzann Pettersen on BBC Radio 5 Live: As a golfing fan, it doesn’t get any better than this.

"A fantastic atmosphere, a lot of great golf and what a start for the Europeans.

"It has been two great weeks for the game of golf and it will be fun to see if Europe can keep up the good work."

On Europe being in command after the first session: "I can probably relate myself more to Zach Johnson’s position. These Americans are going to come back in the afternoon."

Image source, Getty Images

Well, Luke Donald wanted a fast start, he switched to foursomes to try and do just that, but even in his wildest dreams he could not have imagined that.

A 4-0 clean sweep, a 'bluewash' if you will on the leaderboard as Europe take a commanding stranglehold on the Ryder Cup already.

It's hard to pick out an American who played well this morning, with lots of bogeys, sloppy errors and missed putts - while the team in blue all seemed to pull out their best stuff.

And it's not just the result and the points, but the way those points came about, with pretty comprehensive victories all round - only the bottom match was reasonably close.

And that was with the previously unbeaten, untouchable foursomes pairing of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele - with Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood taking care of them in a statement win.

As Lazio fans might have been telling us for, well, ever... Rome is blue!

Image source, BBC Sport

"It's been an unbelievable morning," says Rory McIlroy.

Quite.

Europe switched the morning session to foursomes and the ploy has paid off.

Fleetwood Mac clinched the final win to ensure the Americans could not break the chain.