Europe have taken a giant stride towards a fifth Ryder Cup victory on foreign soil thanks to some outstanding individual performances in New York.But none were greater than Jon Rahm, who led from the front as the visitors took a three-point lead on the opening day at Bethpage Black.Rahm is quickly becoming one of the great Ryder Cup players – of all-timeGettyWith such a premium on that first point and how it can generate momentum, the Spaniard was chosen by Luke Donald to play in the opening match of both sessions, hitting the first tee shot in foursomes and fourballs.First, with the help of Tyrrell Hatton, Rahm took down Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas, silencing the USA’s two biggest cheerleaders in front of their own fans.Then world no.1 Scottie Scheffler would fall victim to Rahm, who was still producing brilliance around the physically-demanding Long Island course deep into the afternoon.talkSPORT golf correspondent Rupert Bell is channelling his inner Adrian Durham for this Ryder Cup to take on the website’s infamous Player Ratings.And for him, there is only one place to begin.Jon Rahm – 10“Rahm was incredible,” Rupert said. “Calmness personified, brilliant putting, amazing in the fourballs.“Him and Hatton this morning just set the tone after losing the first hole.“It has to be a 10 for Rahm, I couldn’t fault him.”Tommy Fleetwood – 9Astonishingly, 80 players in Ryder Cup history have played five foursomes matches or more.Only two of them have a 100 per cent record: Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood, both 5-0-0.Fleetwood delivered two points from two matches on FridayGettyThe Englishman was not far behind Rahm in his influence on Friday’s proceedings, starting by thumping Collin Morikawa and Harris English alongside Rory McIlroy.Fleetwood then starred as he and Justin Rose defeated DeChambeau and Ben Griffin 1up.“Fleetwood Mac came to the party in the morning,” Rupert continued.“What is interesting is how the American fans actually like him and that helped him because he was not getting distracted. He produced some wonderful clutch putts.“I’ll give him a 9 because he was a bit more helped by his partners. Rahm seemed to carry the whole thing on his own.”Rory McIlroy – 8Europe’s talisman was undefeated on Friday but missed the chance to give the visitors a four-shot lead with the last shot of the day.McIlroy would have loved to hole that one in front of Cantlay and his caddie Joe LaCava after their fallout in RomeGettyPlaying alongside Shane Lowry, McIlroy was involved in a hot-tempered match with old rival Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns which went the distance.The Northern Irishman nailed crucial putts on 16 and 17, but for once in 2025, McIlroy did not read the script on 18.“It’s frustrating because he missed a couple of putts in the fourballs that could have cost his team dear,” Rupert said.“He didn’t get the putt on the 18th, but there was a moment on 17 when he held a good putt with Burns inside him.“There was a steely look, there was no fist pumping – and I think that is part of Luke Donald’s mantra that is coming through here.“This ain’t over until it’s over, don’t get ahead of yourself because you’ll rile the crowd. But he had to carry Shane Lowry and he did. And to get that half point was a magnificent testament to him. So I give him 8.”Rupert's player ratings: Team EuropeJon Rahm – 10Tyrrell Hatton – 8Matt Fitzpatrick – 9Ludvig Aberg – 6Tommy Fleetwood – 10Rory McIlroy – 8Viktor Hovland – 5Bob MacIntyre – 5Sepp Straka – 7Justin Rose – 7Shane Lowry – 6Rasmus Hojgaard – 4Bryson DeChambeau – 3With US president Donald Trump in town, his big-hitting friend DeChambeau was supposed to pump up the crowd and create this ferocious wall of American fever.It did not really work out that way.“Sadly a shambles compared to what was expected,” Rupert said.“He just looked so undercooked. Hadn’t played for six weeks, great razzmatazz going out first up, he may have won the first hole with a great drive, but then was a shadow of what was expected.”The DeChambeau/Trump factor proved to be rather underwhelming for the home crowdGettyScottie Scheffler – 3The biggest shock of the day was the world no.1 losing twice – and playing pretty poorly in both matches, too.Many thought the historic 9&7 thumping he got alongside Brooks Koepka in Rome was a wild anomaly.Now they are wondering if the greatest golfer on planet earth has a Ryder Cup problem.Rupert said: “For world number 1, he looked so disinterested. There’s an element of Tiger Woods about him. Completely dominant in strokeplay tournaments, but here he looks uncomfortable.“If I was Keegan Bradley, I’d be feeling a bit let down by those two players. I’d be p*ssed off, because he sent out DeChambeau and Scheffler to do a job, and they didn’t.”Rupert's player ratings: Team USABryson DeChambeau – 3Justin Thomas – 6Scottie Scheffler – 3Russell Henley – 3Harris English – 3Collin Morikawa – 4Xander Schauffele – 6Patrick Cantlay – 7JJ Spaun – 4Ben Griffin – 5Cam Young – 8Sam Burns – 6DeChambeau and Scheffler will get a chance at redemption as USA try to turn things around on Saturday.Both men will feature in the morning foursomes: DeChambeau alongside Cameron Young in the top match and Scheffler with Henley in the last…Saturday morning foursomesBryson DeChambeau & Cameron Young (USA) vs. Matt Fitzpatrick & Ludvig Aberg (EUR)Harris English & Collin Morikawa (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood (EUR)Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay (USA) vs. Jon Rahm & Tyrrell Hatton (EUR)Russell Henley & Scottie Scheffler (USA) vs. Robert MacIntyre & Viktor Hovland (EUR)The action resumes at 12:10pm UK time – as Rupert and I bring you live updates all weekend.