Ryder Cup Day 1 best bets: Europe poised to take early lead in foursomes

Friday starts make for a tough wait for golf bettors who are used to action getting underway early Thursday morning. But we've made it, and the long two-year wait for another Ryder Cup is almost over.

Let's take a look at our favorite picks for Day 1's foursome sessions.

Morikawa/Fowler vs. Lowry/Straka

To see a pairing of Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka for alternate shot was shocking. Lowry isn't playing his best golf, and Straka is a rookie who's known to get a little wild from time to time.

The fact that this duo is up against Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler is a scary proposition for the Europeans. Morikawa is a prototypical alternate-shot player since he's deadly accurate off the tee and one of the world's best iron players. Fowler is also great from tee to green but has a world-class short game in the unlikely event that Morikawa puts them in a tricky situation.

This Lowry-Straka pairing could be a big mistake from Europe's captain Luke Donald. It's the only matchup in the first session where Europe are underdogs, and a win here for the Americans could be a huge momentum boost for the afternoon fourball session.

Pick: C. Morikawa/R. Fowler to win (-105, 3-way line)

Homa/Harman vs. Hovland/Aberg

If you've been following any of the preview content for the Ryder Cup, you'll already know how much love there is for the pairing of Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg.

The Scandinavians complement each other perfectly and are a great fit for alternate shot. Both are elite drivers of the ball and should put their partner in ideal spots to be aggressive with their approach shots.

The tandem of Max Homa and Brian Harman is a bit of a curveball from captain Zach Johnson. They're both Ryder Cup rookies and will have a ton of additional pressure going up against one of Europe's best pairings. Homa and Harman are strong alternate-shot players since both are accurate off the tee and really good putters, but this showdown may prove to be too much to handle.

Pick: Hovland/Aberg to win (-145)

Day 1 foursome session

Europe is favored in three of the four matchups, with their lone underdog being the Lowry-Straka pairing. However, their odds to win the Day 1 foursome sessions are the same as the Americans, which doesn't make a lot of sense.

Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood are slightly favored over the deadly duo of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. The other matchup that hasn't been discussed is Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton versus Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns.

Considering that Europe is favored to win three of the four matches, there's too much value available in backing Europe to win the first foursome session.

Pick: Europe to win Day 1 foursome session (+150, 3-way line)