Zach Johnson Gets Another Big Call Wrong As US Head Towards Harrowing Defeat

Spare a thought for Zach Johnson. He’s spent more than 18 months gearing up to lead the United States team in the 2023 Ryder Cup, preparing for any and all eventualities, only to get to Rome and see his players perform so far below their best they’ve become almost unrecognisable. 

Whether he could have done anything to halt the early European juggernaut is anyone’s guess, but there have been more than a few question marks surrounding some of the decisions he’s made. 

His call to leave four Major champions out of his Friday morning line-up raised eyebrows, even more so after Europe swept the opening session for the first time in the tournament’s history, and the Saturday foursomes threw up more surprises.

Among them was the omission of Wyndham Clark, who played well alongside Max Homa in the first fourball session. The one that grabbed the attention, however, was the inclusion of Jordan Spieth.

It’s no secret that Spieth is bang out of form this week at Marco Simone. He looked a shell of himself in the practice rounds and of the 24 who played on day one, he ranked dead last in total strokes gained, losing 4.63 shots against the average.

Despite that, he got the nod to partner Justin Thomas in game one of the day two foursomes, trusted to take on Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood. 

Unsurprisingly, Spieth struggled in the unforgiving alternate shot format, dragging his partner down with him. The issue seems to be that he doesn’t know whether the ball is going left or right. 

On the par-4 6th, he hit a shot the weekend golfer would be proud of, chunk-pulling a hybrid that barely travelled 200 yards into brutal rough. At the 8th, he flared his drive well right into the thick stuff, forcing Thomas to lay up on the par-4, before he failed to put the ball back into play with the second shot on the par-5 9th and then hit a poor chip up at the green.

Another miss left on 14 put Thomas in a horror position and despite a late rally, the pair were eventually beaten 2&1 when McIlroy sunk a 12-footer for par on the 17th green to continue Europe’s assault towards the finish line. For all that the hosts have been brilliant, the struggles of Spieth, in particular, have been plain for all to see.

Thomas was the controversial pick, but he has undoubtedly been the superior player of this duo. He displayed all his qualities on Friday afternoon to earn a half point against Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton in spite of Spieth.

The US skipper could, therefore, ill afford to drop him again given what he brings to the team, but he could have paired him with someone else. After all, he has been waxing lyrical about the depth of his squad. 

Thomas is good friends with Rickie Fowler, who sat out the Friday fourballs. If the rumours are to be believed, Fowler has been hit hardest by this mystery illness, but even if that is the case, would Clark not have been a better bet?

Of the US team, Clark statistically played the best on Friday, yet he was benched again. Facing a record-equalling day one deficit, this was a chance for Johnson to make a big call, the kind which was surely required to try and turn the tide in America's favour. 

It would have meant dropping one of his star men and one of the game's most recognisable figures, but that's why he's in this position. Yes, the players are ultimately at fault for what is shaping up to be a Roman rout, but Johnson must also share in the blame.