Scottie Scheffler had come off two outstanding seasons. Bryson DeChambeau was making his Ryder Cup comeback. Cameron Young was finally a part of the team. And Keegan Bradley was leading Team U.S. The American fans had every reason to cheer for their side at Bethpage. Despite the strong presence of Team Europe, they had faith in Bradley to surprise the Europeans. However, only half the way through the tournament, many have already lost all hope in them. But Phil Mickelson still believes that they can make a comeback.

After the first day, Team U.S. ended with 2½ points as compared to the European’s 5½. Team Europe increased the lead to 8½ to 3½ after the Saturday Foursomes. Scheffler lost once again, but DeChambeau finally gained a point for the team. However, after looking at those two teamed up for the Saturday Fourballs, Mickelson has started believing in the American side again. And he tweeted that he is anticipating a Team U.S. comeback after looking at the complete lineup.

“I know Team USA 🇺🇸 is down 5 points but Captain Keegan nailed the afternoon pairings and they are going to make a strong run! USA 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸,” he wrote, cheering the American side to go on a winning run. With the Europeans only requiring 5½ points to retain the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, Scottie Scheffler & Co. will need to put in a serious effort to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Apart from them, the star performer from Friday Foursomes, Justin Thomas, is teamed with Cameron Young. Young has also come off a big win teaming with DeChambeau in the Saturday morning session. Xander Schauffele is paired with J.J. Spaun, and Patrick Cantlay & Sam Burns are lined up together.

With the lineups confirmed, let’s take a look at what is happening at Bethpage halfway down the round.

Carrying Phil Mickelson’s belief, has Keegan Bradley’s strategy really worked?

One thing is certain: putting Bryson DeChambeau & Scottie Scheffler together was a power move by Keegan Bradley. Going up against Tommy Fleetwood & Justin Rose, Team U.S. needed their best players in Fourball matches to ensure they got some kind of result out of it. And so far, the world #1 and the Crushers GC captain are giving the deadly European duo tough competition. Rose & Fleetwood just got 1UP after 8 holes.

Justin Thomas & Cameron Young were one of the two teams that dominated the Europeans on Friday. Making them go up against Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry is also giving Team U.S. a huge boost. They are tied after 9 holes. Spaun & Schauffele are trailing Jon Rahm & Sepp Straka by 1 after 7 holes. Lastly, Cantlay & Burns are tied with Tyrrell Hatton & Matt Fitzpatrick after 6 holes. This is a much better result than Team U.S. can still take advantage of and win all four matches. They are certainly positioned better than they were this time 24 hours ago, when two of the pairings were trailing by 3 points or more.