12 September 2023 , 17:12
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Golf fans believe they may have been given a sneak peak into what to expect from Team Europe at this month's Ryder Cup following the release of the tee times at this week's BMW PGA Championship.
All eyes turn to Wentworth this week, as the DP World Tour hosts their flagship tournament at the iconic course. The event is known for boasting one of the Tour's strongest fields of the season, and this year is no different with a whole host of big names arriving in Surrey this week.
The 2023 event has added importance too, with all 12 of Europe's Ryder Cup players competing in the event ahead of their clash with their American rivals at Marco Simone at the end of September.
Luke Donald will take charge of a new-look Team Europe this time around, after a changing of the guard following the saga surrounding LIV Golf. Donald has four rookies within his ranks ahead of the trip to Rome, with Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka, Nicolai Hojgaard and Ludvig Aberg making their Ryder Cup debuts.
A new-look team will mean new-look partnerships for the European setup this time around, especially in the absence of stalwarts Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood. And many believe the release of this week's tee times at Wentworth could well be an indicator of who will be partnered with who in three weeks' time.
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Across Thursday and Friday the 12 Ryder Cup stars have been grouped together across four three-balls. The Thursday morning session at Wentworth will see Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland and Aberg tee it up alongside each other at 8:40am (BST). They will be shortly followed by Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Straka at 9:00am (BST).
Rory McIlroy will play with Viktor Hovland at Wentworth (Getty Images)In the afternoon the second wave of Team Europe players will make their way out, with Jon Rahm, Hojgaard and Tyrrell Hatton teeing off at 12:40pm (BST). One group later Justin Rose, MacIntyre and Matt Fitzpatrick will kick off their week at 12:50pm (BST).
Spotting the Ryder Cup pattern, fans were quick to speculate about whether these groups could well be a hint towards who plays with who in Rome later this month. Taking to social media one golf fan posted: "Really hope Aberg & Hovland play together in @RyderCupEurope," whilst another added: "Team Europe trying to work on chemistry."
A third then tweeted: "Honestly really smart to pair all 12 Ryder Cup players in groups together." It is not just Europe's players who have been grouped together, with skipper Donald competing alongside two of his vice-captains in rounds one and two. The Englishman will tee off alongside the Molinari brothers, Edoardo and Francesco at 9:30am (BST) on Thursday.