Team USA fell to Team Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup 16.5-11.5 at Marco Simone Golf Club. American captain Zach Johnson has received a lot of criticism for his choices in captain’s picks, pairings and some of the other decisions he made this week in Rome.
Zach Johnson rightfully falls on the Ryder Cup sword as Team USA fails to end drought
Johnson took the blame for Team USA’s downfall at the 2023 Ryder Cup as the Americans fail to win on foreign soil yet again.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Not much went right for the Americans. After it was all said and done, Johnson acknowledged his shortcomings to SkySports.
“It’s not them. It’s on me,” Johnson said. “Maybe some poor decisions. I can reflect at some point. I don’t have any idea yet. It’s not about those 12 guys. They played so hard for each other and played so hard for our country.”
When asked to elaborate on whether he could pinpoint any of his mistakes, Johnson wouldn’t go into that too much, claiming it was still too raw.
Team USA got swept in the morning foursome session Friday 4-0. It was the first time that had ever happened in the Ryder Cup. They couldn’t get much momentum going on Friday afternoon in the four-ball session either. The Americans headed into Saturday down 6.5 to 1.5.
The slow start could be attributed to the five weeks off most of the Americans had before the Ryder Cup.
Meanwhile, all 12 Europeans played in the BMW PGA Championship two weeks prior. They looked sharper and it showed.
Max Homa and Brian Harman scored the only full point for the Americans through the first 11 matches.
That point gave Team USA some momentum as they later won the four-ball session Saturday, 3-1. However, the Americans could have gone 4-0 that afternoon if Johnson’s club-down decision with Jordan Spieth on the par-4 16th didn’t cost them.
The Americans entered Sunday down 10.5 to 5.5 with 12 singles matches left. They weren’t dead yet, but the Europeans sent their big dogs out early and captured the Ryder Cup trophy for the 10th time in the last 14 tries.
Johnson’s leadership was rightfully questioned throughout the week. Losing is never easy, but the hard truth is that Team USA lost this event on Friday and some change at the top might be in order.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
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