We hear a lot about sticking to plans but neither of these players would've been pencilled in for the top match at the start of the week. Young though has been the standout US player, and what can you say about Rose? His performance all week has been exceptional, but last night ventured into the extraordinary.
The worry you'd have for many of the Europeans is that they put so much into the first two days in a febrile atmosphere and while Rose has only played two sessions so far, they've been intense matches opposite Bryson DeChambeau. He has a losing singles record and it wouldn't surprise me were he to end a brilliant week in defeat to a New Yorker who has excelled himself in every way.
All that being said, the idea of betting against Rose seems utterly silly.
Verdict: USA 1up
Thomas deserves great credit for the way he both played and behaved on Saturday night, doing his best to rouse the crowds in the right way, while demanding that they respect the opponent. It was futile, but a worthy pursuit from a player who will have gone up in the estimations of many observers. He also more than justified his inclusion in a way that wasn't quite true two years ago.
Fleetwood meanwhile has been the best player of all 24 and now bids to emulate his friend, Francesco Molinari, by going 5-0-0. No player has done that on foreign soil to date and a more romantic captain might've sent him out later knowing there's an easier match to be won. But there is still a job to do, Europe know that, so Fleetwood gets the prominent slot he's wanted since sealing victory in Rome from match 11.
Thomas's 3-0-0 record in Ryder Cup singles merits respect and I'm a bit surprised he's as big as 13/8 in places, but just as there's little appeal in opposing Rose, I'm not going to take on the standout player of this Ryder Cup. Hopefully, Fleetwood makes more history.
Verdict: Europe 2&1
With a landslide win looking likely, Europe can probably afford to begin considering the nice extras that this Ryder Cup has provided. One of them has undoubtedly been the performance of Fitzpatrick, who like Fleetwood hasn't actually putted well. It's true that putting has been massively instrumental in European success, but two of their best four players are currently on negative numbers for the week.
Anyway, Fitzpatrick has answered all questions and that won't change if he loses this singles match, as many will assume. I wouldn't go quite that far myself, but DeChambeau out on his own, where he's most comfortable, should be extremely difficult to beat. His golf has largely been good, albeit his iron play remains a big area of weakness, and he'll probably feel like he was a victim on Saturday which could add to his desire to show what he can do.
DeChambeau has to be the pick, but the way Fitzpatrick has played, and the attitude he has, don't be surprised if he signs off this brilliant performance with a point. Remarkably, it could even be the winning one.
Verdict: USA 2&1
Some balance is needed regarding Scheffler's display this week. Yes, he has been far below the standards we've come to expect – but he ranks third among US players and eighth of 24 overall. Granted that says more about his teammates and, clearly, he should've performed better, but two of his four matches happened to be against the best European pairing that day. He has been badly drawn.
The key question here is whether or not Scheffler is badly drawn again. On the one hand, of course he is: McIlroy has been excellent, particularly his iron play, and is undefeated. He also boasts a 4-2-1 singles record and hasn't lost one since 2018. However, also true is that he's suffered the very worst of US crowd behaviour and admitted to being exhausted on Saturday evening. What has he got left?
Hopefully, the prospect of taking on Scheffler is suitably refreshing, and McIlroy will know that he could have a chance to seal victory for Europe. What a way to end the week that would be.
Verdict: Halved
Statistically, Aberg has been the worst European player, every aspect of his game disappointing. He rode the coattails of Fitzpatrick in the first session but then let Rasmus Hojgaard down and, on Saturday morning, ranked 16th of 16 players who featured in the foursomes. It's not been the week many expected, not that it seems likely to matter.
He lost his first Ryder Cup singles match and unless he finds improvement from somewhere, I suspect he'll lose again. Cantlay is 2-0-0 so far and up there with the worst draw a European player could have landed for my money. He did suffer a body blow late on Saturday to lose a poor match, but as had been the case in the morning was unfortunate to be let down so badly by his partner.
On his own, Cantlay sets a good standard here and everything points to a pretty convincing win.
Verdict: USA 4&3
I maintain that for all my selections this week have been a disaster, Rahm should've been favourite to be first out in singles. Events have demanded a change of plan and I suspect Donald has him in this slot because he recognises that it's just about the most likely one for the winning point or half-point, and Rahm is an ideal man to have in that situation, especially if things are going badly further down the line.
He didn't have his best stuff on Saturday night but was far from alone in that. It felt like a lot of players were running on empty and, heading into the singles with such a lopsided scoreline, we could see a lack of quality in Sunday's matches. However, Rahm can be trusted to dig deep and produce the goods against an opponent who arrived poorly prepared and has largely played like it.
Schauffele was better in the fourth session but it was his partner who turned the tie around. It so happens that the same four players have been paired up but whereas Spaun is fancied to get the better of Straka (see below), I think Rahm will beat Schauffele just as McIlroy did at Whistling Straits.
Verdict: Europe 4&3
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