PALM BEACH GARDENS (Fla.) — Zach Johnson’s players support their embattled Captain, even though he is “regretful” about the performance of the Americans at the Ryder Cup a few months ago.
Last Friday, Justin Thomas and Rickie fowler spoke with The Palm Beach Post about the disappointing Marco Simone Golf Club week in Rome. The U.S. was beaten by Europe, 16.5-11.5.
The three players attended the opening of Panther National. This course was designed by Thomas and Jack Nicklaus.
“The No. Thomas stated that the No. We all told Zach that it was easy to look back on a week when they played better than us and we didn’t play well. It’s easy for people to say that you should have done things differently.
We should have done better.
Fowler claimed that he did not have any complaints about the way Johnson managed his team.
Fowler stated, “The bottom line is that we didn’t perform as well as did the Euros.” “Zach’s popularity is universal. He was amazing. “I wish I had been healthier and felt better about my game.”
Schauffele agreed.
He said, “We would all have liked to have done better for Zach so he wouldn’t be forced to think in this manner.” “When we lose the captain takes all the heat. When we win, it’s the players who get the credit.
We wouldn’t have this conversation if any of the guys that you spoke to today or I had played better.
All three of them had losing records. Thomas, 1-2-1 and Schauffele 1-3 won their respective singles matches. Fowler had a score of 0-2.
Johnson addressed the media for the first time after returning from Rome, at the RSM Classic last week.
He said, “I have a lot to think about in hindsight.” “There are regrets, no doubt.”
Zach Johnson on Ryder Cup time management
Johnson specifically cited time management.
Johnson said, “The one thing that I keep coming back to and that I wish I had changed or not changed is the simple commodity of time, and realizing that it was precious.”
He said that this was not about a team going to Marco Simone three weeks before the Ryder Cup for a practice round. He called it “spectacular.”
It was about how they managed their time throughout the week.
He said, “If I had put more emphasis on time management I could’ve put my team in a much better position early on to play golf.”
Thomas, Fowler, and Schauffele don’t know what else could have been accomplished. They also stated that the European team had the same schedule as the American team and that players shouldn’t use this excuse.
Fowler admitted that it was difficult. The schedule is dictated by the tournament and each player prepares differently.
“But, hey! No excuses. The European and U.S. teams were on a similar schedule in the preceding week. “We weren’t as sharp or played as well.”
Thomas said: “We are being pulled in many different directions during that week. It’s crazy… this is as far away from a typical week as we can get. It’s different from your usual preparation, your normal sleep schedule, and a whole lot of other little things. It’s a situation that everyone has to adapt to.”
Some wonder if the U.S. were over-rested. Nine of the 12 players had not played in over a month or since the Tour Championship final. Thomas, Max Homa, and Brooke Koepka were the only players to have played during the five-week period between the Tour Championship’s end and the Ryder Cup.
The European team also competed in the BMW PGA Championship, held in England just two weeks prior to the Ryder Cup.
Johnson said that he did not know if it was the captain’s job to tell players to play.
He said, “I’m not sure if this is the right way to go about it.”
Justin Thomas played just two weeks before the Ryder Cup
Thomas, who didn’t qualify for the Tour Championship played at the Fortinet Championship two weeks before the Ryder Cup in Napa Valley.
He said, “Everyone’s different.” It’s not the time of year when you think about adding more golf. It was tough because everyone was fresh mentally, physically, and ready to play, but you lose a bit of your competitive edge.
It’s easy to look back in retrospect and say that things didn’t go well. In retrospect, it’s easy to say that something didn’t work out.
Fowler said: “You look back two years to a U.S. victory of 10 points at Whistling Straights, and everyone praises them for their play and for beating Europe. You flip it. They pick apart your work and tell you that all of these things were wrong. “You won, you did it all right.”
Johnson still believes that he could’ve done more.
Johnson said, “You can never tell who will win at any time.” “I don’t believe I’ve put my team in the best possible position to succeed, as we’ve said.”
