Rex Hoggard has revealed what many of the Ryder Cup stars playing in the Scottish Open this week told him about Zach Johnson and his captaincy of the US team in Rome last year.
Of course, the Ryder Cup is back in the headlines this week, with the US opting for Keegan Bradley as their new captain at Bethpage Black next year. The PGA of America will hope that home advantage levels the playing field, with Luke Donald doing the job for the second time on the European side.
The US will certainly hope for nothing like the performance which came over the first two days at Marco Simone, with Europe leading 9.5-2.5 after the third session.
There certainly seemed to be little clamour for Zach Johnson to stay on for two more years in the same way there had been for Donald on the other side of the pond.
What American stars said about Zach Johnson after 2023 Ryder Cup
A final day fightback from the visitors made the scoreline a little more respectable, but it was no surprise that the two-time major champion was no given a second opportunity to captain the side in New York.
However, it seems that many in the team room do not hold Johnson responsible, with Rex Hoggard telling the Golf Channel Podcast that they were mostly at fault for the loss.
“To be fair, I interviewed about a half dozen players at the Scottish Open, American players, yesterday about this idea, and almost all of them will tell you that they all feel bad for Zach Johnson, because there was nothing Zach could have done in Rome to turn that tide,” he said.
“That entire team just played poorly, so I don’t know if Keegan’s going to be a good captain or a bad captain, only time is going to tell, but it’s not going to matter if his team doesn’t show up and play well.”
Keegan Bradley under a completely different kind of pressure
No result highlighted how out of the form the American side was more than the record defeat suffered by Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka, who were beaten 9&7 by Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg on Saturday morning. Unsurprisingly, Scheffler appeared to be left shellshocked after the defeat.
But the preparation was hardly ideal, with most of the team not playing for several weeks before the event. And a few of players were struck down by illness over the week.
There has only been one visiting team who have won the Ryder Cup since the turn of the millennium, so Johnson’s task was always a monumental one. And Bradley’s challenge is a completely different one, as he will be dealing with the pressure of his team being the overwhelming favourites.
Defeat in New York therefore, will reflect terribly on Bradley – regardless of whether it is his fault or not.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
