Portugal Colonial - Unbeaten McIlroy faces winless Scheffler in Ryder Cup singles

Pairings for the decisive matches in the biennial golf showdown between Europe and the United States were revealed Saturday after Europe won 3-1 in foursomes and four-ball sessions to seize an 11.5-4.5 lead.

It's the largest lead entering singles in Cup history, eclipsing the 11-5 leads by the United States in 2021 and Europe in 2004.

Europe need only two wins and a draw to keep the trophy while the Americans need 10 points to reclaim the Cup.

England's Justin Rose faces Cam Young in Sunday's opening singles match at 12:02 pm (1602 GMT). England's unbeaten Tommy Fleetwood will play Justin Thomas in match two and England's Matt Fitzpatrick meets Bryson DeChambeau in match three.

McIlroy, who won the Masters in April to complete a career Grand Slam, meets four-time major winner Scheffler, an American whose six wins this year include the PGA Championship and British Open, in match four.

American Patrick Cantlay plays Sweden's Ludvig Aberg in match five, followed in order by Spain's Jon Rahm against Xander Schauffele, Austrian Sepp Straka against US Open winner J.J. Spaun, Irishman Shane Lowry against third-ranked Russell Henley and Dane rookie Rasmus Hojgaard against Ben Griffin.

The last matches send England's Tyrrell Hatton against Collin Morikawa, Scotsman Robert MacIntyre against Sam Burns and Norway's Viktor Hovland against Harris English,

The status of Hovland, pulled from a Saturday four-ball match with a neck injury, will not be known until Sunday after an MRI is examined.

Nogueira--PC