It has been almost two months since the Ryder Cup concluded, with Europe clinching the trophy at 16.5–11.5 against the US. But seemingly American captain Zach Johnson has been at the brunt of criticism for his captaincy and thus went ahead and owned up to all the mistakes of his team in an interview last week. But US Ryder Cup team golfers backed up their captain by coming to his defence.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Johnson said, “I am proud of my guys. They fought, they have got so much heart and grit” acknowledging the labor of his team.
But no sooner did he say that he also took the entire blame for failure on himself. “It is not them it is on me. Maybe there are some important decisions I can reflect on, I don’t have an idea yet, but it is not on them 12 guys. They played so hard, and I am grateful for each and every one of them”
But definitely, the players couldn’t accept such a scenario, and thus, three of his American Ryder Cup teammates rallied in support of their captain. Who are these players, and what reasoning did they give for their loss in Rome?
The American Ryder Cup Soldiers Shield Their Captain Against the Ryder Cup Loss
American Ryder Cup teammates Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, and Rickie Fowler came out in support of their captain after he took the blame for the loss.
Justin Thomas, who was one of Zach’s captain’s picks, told Palm Beach that it was the golfers who didn’t play well as compared to the European team and that the Americans could have done much better in order to break their three-decade-long streak of losing on European soil.
Fowler also believes the same and wished that he was in better health that week. “All it comes down to is we didn’t play as well as the Euros did. Zach is loved by everyone. He was great. I wish I would have been healthier that week and wish I would have been playing better and feeling better about my game” said Rickie Fowler.
The American team didn’t win a single point on the first day and only managed to win one session the entire week, in the Saturday fourballs. Even Xander Schauffele reflected on how that disappointed their captain, and if the golfers had done better, Johnson wouldn’t have felt this way. “When we lose, the captain gets all the heat. When we win, the players get all the credit. “We wouldn’t be having this conversation if I played better or any of the guys you talked to today played better”.
The blame game is something that keeps going in loops, but as a team, it is evident that the Americans were not on par with the Europeans when it came to their gameplay. And with reports of a rift within the US team following Patrick Cantlay’s opinions on Ryder Cup pay, the team had other issues distracting it from its goal.
