Zach Johnson’s American Ryder Cup team endured a difficult start to the Ryder Cup after falling 6.5-1.5 behind, and the captain has opened up on the issues within his camp.
Zach Johnson has opened up on the illness within his American Ryder Cup team, but has insisted it is ‘not an excuse’ for their dismal showing on day one at Marco Simone.
Team USA were blown away by their European rivals on Friday after failing to win a match in a day’s play for the first time in Ryder Cup history. After being whitewashed 4-0 in the morning foursomes, Team Europe thwarted a US comeback in the fourballs to take a commanding 6.5-1.5 lead.
A whole host of questions were put to US captain Johnson following his team’s dismal showing, but he revealed there had been some health issues within his camp. Johnson’s claim was criticised by many on Friday evening, but addressing their health struggles on Saturday, he was quick to insist he was not making excuses for the damning scoreboard.
“It is just part of it [illness], this is sport, it is not an excuse,” he told Sky Sports. “As I said over and over Luke [Donald] and his team did awesome and that is the story.” Johnson did go onto hint though that the fitness issues within his team had played some part in his pairing decisions that had been heavily scrutinised following defeat on day one.