En dit zeggen de 'acht' over morgen

8.10 uur: Het bal wordt voor Europa geopend met de nummer een van de PGA Tour en de ruwe diamant Jon Rahm (samen op de foto boven). Brooks Koepka en Tony Finau - birdiemachines - zijn de mannen die moeten worden geklopt.

Going out first tomorrow, how much of an honour is that for you?

JUSTIN ROSE: It's a huge honour. I've been in that situation before and it's a morning you can never really prepare for. Jon is going to feel it for the first time, but for me it's going to feel like virtually the first time, as well.

Only once every four years you get to do it at home, and it's going to be very, very special. Obviously the atmosphere they have created in Paris with the stands and what-have-you, I'm excited to see how it feels in the morning.

How excited are you to get this underway and playing with this man?

JON RAHM: Usually I'm a pretty calm person. So based on my usual level of excitement, I know tomorrow is going to be 10 or 20. Yeah, my first Ryder Cup, teeing it up with the FedExCup Champion, a European golf legend, first group out, it's a lot of firsts that I will forever remember. Not many people get to play for a Ryder Cup in Europe with this stage setup and be in the first group outright.

Looking forward to it. I just kind of hope one of us hits it in the fairway to start off the day. Besides that, there's many ways to win.

JUSTIN ROSE: 100 per cent. That's what we're going to do. We're going to figure out a way to get the job done and win the match. Today was a big day. We played together and we played well, and I felt like we got more and more comfortable with this golf course and settling in nicely, and really looking forward to tomorrow.

***

8.25 uur. Opvallende keuze van de captain om rookie Thorbjørn Olesen aan Rory McIlroy te koppelen. Maar dat vinden de heren zelf niet. Hun tegenstanders zijn Dustin Johnson en Rickie Fowler

Your thoughts on tomorrow?

THORBJØRN OLESEN: Looking forward to it. Very, very excited. Rory and I played together a few times, so, yeah, excited.

You're the experienced man in the partnership and part of the opening morning two years ago. How much does that focus your attention on trying to be more successful this year?

RORY McILROY: I think looking at the matchups, I think all four matches are going to be fantastic. I've played Rickie a lot in Ryder Cup over the past few years, so it's a comfortable match for both of us. Obviously Thorbjørn and Dustin know each other just a little bit through their management group, so it will be a comfortable grouping.

Especially first Ryder Cup match for Thorbjørn, so the more comfortable it can be, the better. Just excited to get going tomorrow and can't wait to partner up with this man and try to bring a point home for Europe.

What makes you so compatible?

RORY McILROY: Thorbjørn and I have known each other for a lot of years. We first played together in Egypt in 2010, which is a long time ago. But I think our game styles are pretty similar. We both hit the ball a long way and we sort of see the game similarly, and it's about chemistry, and as being one of the more experienced players, I wanted to not necessarily take a rookie under my wing, but if it was called upon me to play with someone with a little less experience, I was all for that.

I think it's going to be a good experience for Thorbjørn to go out there tomorrow morning and experience the first tee. I just can't wait to go out with him and try to win a point for Europe.

What does it say that the rookies are playing in the morning?

RORY McILROY: It means that they are not really rookies. They know the golf course so well and Thorbjørn has played the golf course in the French Open, so it's not anything new.

THORBJØRN OLESEN: It's nice to be alongside Rory.

***

8.40 uur: Paul Casey en Tyrrell Hatton spelen in de derde match tegen Jordan Spieth en Justin Thomas

How much are you looking forward to teeing it up in a Ryder Cup?

PAUL CASEY: I can't wait. It's going to be this man's debut tomorrow. I'm so excited for it. He's playing great.

How do you feel?

TYRRELL HATTON: Obviously it's going to be an incredible atmosphere tomorrow morning. So hopefully we can play well and win a point for Europe.

We saw you both on 13 today. You were in the very thick rough and you were just in the semi- rough. Just shows it has to be avoided off the tee on this golf course?

PAUL CASEY: Yeah, but we won our match today, so it was all good.

TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, we took the money today. Obviously it's important to hit fairways around here. The rough is very thick, so hopefully we can be in the fairway quite often tomorrow.

How excited to get this Ryder Cup underway in this pairing together?

PAUL CASEY: I can't wait. Tyrrell is phenomenal. We paired up earlier this year. We've had success so far this week. We beat Sergio and Alex today. I mean, this is going to be an amazing week. It's really been fantastic to this point. I'm excited for this man to make his debut tomorrow and see what it's all about, and then he'll be a Ryder Cupper. We're playing great golf, and I have confidence in our team.

How excited are you to finally get this thing going for yourself?

TYRRELL HATTON: Obviously I can't wait. The atmosphere on the first tee tomorrow is going to be unbelievable. Certainly an experience, and you know, I can't wait to get started.

***

8.55 uur: Francesco Molinari en Tommy Fleetwood nemen het vrijdagochtend op tegen Tiger Woods en Patrick Reed.

How much do you feel you two boys have been gelling together in your practise sessions?

FRANCESCO MOLINARI: We've been doing our best. Obviously we enjoy each other's company and we've been friends for awhile now, and yeah, we can't wait to get started. It's nearly time. I'm sure that the first tee tomorrow is going to be something else. So I can't wait to be there.

How much are you excited about the first tee? How much are you excited about taking on that final pairing, Patrick Reed and Tiger Woods for your first Ryder Cup match?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It doesn't get any better. If you said my first Ryder Cup match, I couldn't pick a better person to play with. We get on great. I love this guy, and he's pretty good at golf, too.

You know, it's a massive match, of course it is, but they are all going to be big, and of course everybody is looking at Tiger's return. But, you know, for us, when we get to that golf course and when we get on the first tee, it's down to what we do, and you know, we've practiced our whole lives for this and we are just going to play our game and hopefully that will be good enough at the end of it.