Team USA captain Johnson opens on Ryder Cup regret he wishes he could change
Zach Johnson wishes he made better use of his time at the Ryder Cup in his first real assessment of Team USA 's defeat to Europe.
Team Europe claimed a 16.5-11.5 win over the US at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club last month. The victory for Europe saw the team maintain their undefeated record on home soil which began in 1997.
Team USA trailed 6.5-1.5 after the opening day and then 10.5-5.5 heading into the Sunday singles matches, which led to criticism from sections of the media on Johnson and his players. Now, Johnson has spoken for the first time since that final day of the tournament in Italy more than six weeks ago.
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Johnson will feature in the RSM Classic on the PGA Tour at Sea Island Golf Club in Georgia, which begins this week. It was while speaking to reporters previewing the event that the 47-year-old was asked if he had any regrets from his time as captain of Team USA.
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"I’ve got a lot of 20/20-hindsight things that I certainly think about. Arguably, some regrets,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday ahead of the RSM Classic.
“But I think again something of that magnitude, win or lose, you’re going to have that, that’s sports. And I think that’s when you care, you’re passionate about something, you’re going to have those natural feelings.”
Johnson has now had more than six weeks to think about what happened during the Ryder Cup. The two-time major champion went on to reflect on what he would have done differently, were he to have his time back again at Marco Simone.
“The common denominator that I go back to that I wish it would have dawned on me earlier is just the pure commodity of time and understanding that it’s precious,” Johnson said.
“You know, we had the practice round trip. No regrets. Amazing. I don’t think the guys would say they had any regrets in that, at least I hope they wouldn’t. It was spectacular.
Zach Johnson and Team USA lost 16.5-11.5 to Luke Donald and Team Europe at the Ryder Cup (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)“You're looking back on things, if I could have put more value into time management, I could have put my guys in a better position to play golf at a better rate early on.
"I'm not suggesting that would have changed the outcome, not at all. I can't determine that, that's sports, right? So I'm just saying that in my seat, I didn't see what needed to be seen until after the fact."
The next Ryder Cup is due to take place in 2025 at Bethpage in New York. The captains for both Team Europe and Team USA are yet to be confirmed for the tournament, with the decisions expected to be announced sometime next year.
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