It's finally here! Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black gets underway Friday morning

After over a decade of anticipation, the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black finally is here.

The three-day biennial golf competition between the U.S. and Europe begins at 7:10 a.m. Friday when Americans Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas face Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton in the first of four foursomes matches in the morning session. 

Europe's brilliant star Rory McIlroy and partner Tommy Fleetwood will face Collin Morikawa and Harris English  in the third match.

The friction between DeChambeau and McIlroy has intensified in the lead-up to this Ryder Cup and while they aren't facing each other in the first session, there are four more opportunities when they might meet. 

The two superstars fought to the wire in two of the six most recent major championships, and verbal jabs have been exchanged in recent weeks and months.

Perhaps their rivalry will reach a new pinnacle at Bethpage Black.

McIlroy, the 36-year-old Northern Irishman and PGA Tour icon, and DeChambeau, the 32-year-old California native who has become a YouTube sensation and fan favorite, each held news conferences Thursday.  Both players would relish the opportunity to face each other.

“I promised [Team Europe captain] Luke [Donald] I would only talk about the European team today. I'm going to stick to it,” McIlroy said. “No, look. I think, again, it's so easy to play into narratives this week and to get swept up in this whole rivalries and Ryder Cup — whatever it is. All I want to do is go and try and put blue points on the board. I don't care who it's against.

“If I come up against Bryson at some point, that's great. I think that's wonderful for the championship and wonderful for us as well in some ways.”

Said DeChambeau: “Would I love to go up against him? Yeah. It’d be a lot of fun. Is it going to happen? It's not likely. I mean, maybe once. You never know. I don't know if there's planning behind the scenes or whatnot. But no, look, he's a fierce competitor, a great competitor, but one that I’d love the opportunity to play against this week.”

McIlroy won four tournaments this year, none bigger than the Masters in April to complete the career Grand Slam. McIlroy and DeChambeau played in Sunday’s final pairing, the former entering the day with a two-stroke lead.

DeChambeau, whose interactions with McIlroy throughout the year are limited due to playing on the Saudi-backed LIV tour, said after the final round that McIlroy did not speak to him once all day. He added that McIlroy was “just being focused, I guess. It's not me, though.”

McIlroy responded to that remark at the PGA Championship in May.

“I don't know what he was expecting,” he said. “We're trying to win the Masters. I'm not going to try to be his best mate out there.

“Look, everyone approaches the game different ways. Yeah, like I was focused on myself and what I needed to do, and that's really all that it was. It wasn't anything against him or against — it's just I felt that's what I needed to do to try to get the best out of myself that day.”

DeChambeau and McIlroy seemingly were friendly enough to act alongside Adam Sandler in “Happy Gilmore 2,” which was released in July. At that month’s movie premiere, DeChambeau set the tone for the Ryder Cup.

“I'll be chirping in his ear this time,” he told People Magazine. “Now, if we go up against each other, I mean, you can be sure of it.”

McIlroy provided his perception of DeChambeau earlier this month in an interview with The Guardian.

“I think the only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people,” he said. “That is basically what I think of that. To get attention he will mention me or Scottie [Scheffler] or others.”

McIlroy was one of the most vocal anti-LIV voices in the sport, and DeChambeau — after initially denying his potential move from the PGA Tour — bolted in June 2022.

In the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, DeChambeau edged McIlroy by one stroke for his second major title. McIlroy had the solo lead with four holes remaining but finished with three bogeys — including missed par putts of under three feet on 16 and four feet on 18.

DeChambeau played in previous Ryder Cups in 2018 and 2021, though he never matched up with McIlroy. It may not happen this weekend, but it would present quite the storyline.

“I think rivalries are good for the game of golf, and albeit I have the ultimate respect for Rory as a player,” DeChambeau said. “It's going to be fun to go up against him this week, whether it's against him directly or through other players. I think it’s going to be a fun challenge this week.”

By Ben Dickson

benjamin.dickson@newsday.com@bendickson__

Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.