Zach Johnson Reflects on Ryder Cup Failures in Rome

There are very few Americans that have won Ryder Cups in Europe. It is almost a forgotten feeling for the great nation, one must cast their mind back to September 1993 at the Belfry to find evidence of such a feat.

Back then, Freddie Couples had jet-black hair, Greg Norman was World #1, Bill Clinton was President and 2023 Ryder Cup captain and two-time major winner Zach Johnson was only 17 years old.

With the 2023 biennial event now in the rear-view mirror, Captain Zach was questioned on his performance at the helm, after another resounding loss on the Eastern side of the Atlantic.

In an interview with Matt Vicenzi of Golf WRX, Johnson said:

“I wish it would have dawned on me earlier is just the pure commodity of time and understanding that is precious…. If I could have put more value into time management, I could have put my guys in a better position to play golf at a better rate early on.”

This likely refers to America’s shockingly slow start in Rome, with Europe sweeping the first session 4-0 for the first time in history – and pretty much closing the door on the Americans from the off. Some commentators have put this down to a lack of competitive playing time, which most definitely factors in. The Europeans were all present at the BMW Championship, and raring to go.

🚨⏱️⛳️ #REGRETS — Zach Johnson reflects on his Ryder Cup captaincy in Rome: “The common denominator that I go back to that I wish I could have changed, or not changed, I wish it would have dawned on me earlier is just the pure commodity of time and understanding that it’s… pic.twitter.com/N7Z4KhQIk5

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) November 14, 2023

Another factor is travel, where it can take several days to feel normal after crossing the Atlantic.

Johnson remained bullish on future Ryder Cups, home or away.

“You never know, anybody can beat anybody at any given time…The fact of the matter is what we’ve kind of said here, I don’t think I put my guys in the best position for success.”

It appears Johnson wasn’t prepared to make the tough decisions in Rome, continuously playing guys who were far from their best, and sticking with pairings that seemed destined to fail. He will always be chastised for avoiding the LIV guys who were in decent form, although Brooks Koepka was the sole LIV player on the US team – and he was on the receiving end of a thunderous 9&7 loss to Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland in foursomes.

I honestly doubt that future away sides will have any more success, due to the home advantage now present in Ryder Cups. The course can be set up however the captain desires, using every data point imaginable to provide any advantage possible, such as leaving the fairways narrower at a certain distance, or favouring holes of a certain length. There is a lot of pressure on the captains, always a hero if they succeed and always a failure if they lose. In the case of the American captain away from home, it is becoming a monumental, possibly unassailable task.

Cover Image via Sports Illustrated