Captain Johnson says he's confident with U.S. players
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, ITALY ❯❯ Big winners two years ago in Wisconsin, the Americans know a Ryder Cup victory away from home has been out of reach for the last 30 years.
Among the challenges is a pro-European crowd ready to cheer and jeer every miss.
So it was no surprise Thursday on the eve of the Ryder Cup to hear U.S. captain Zach Johnson do all he could to curry favor with the host nation in the opening ceremony. He offered endless praise of Italy and immigrants who have added so much to American culture and character.
“And this week, in a small way, we hope America can give something back to Italy,” he said.
European captain Luke Donald thought of one thing America could offer.
“Yeah, a little gold trophy would be nice on Sunday evening,” he said.
The battle for the 17-inch Ryder Cup, in U.S. possession since that 19-9 beating at Whistling Straits in 2021, gets started this morning at Marco Simone. It's a golf course built for big excitement at an event that really doesn't need much help.
It's not so much the reachable par 5s and short par 4s. Viktor Hovland charged up the crowd Thursday with his “mulligan albatross.” After an errant tee shot, he dropped a ball on the tee at the 302yard fifth and knocked it in with a 3-wood.
This is as much about the hills and layout that allow for good views and lots of noise. Playing before a hostile crowd is never easy, and perhaps one reason Team USA has not left European soil with the Ryder Cup since 1993.
Johnson believes this year will be different, just like captains of the previous six visiting U.S. teams before him. He felt good enough to sit out Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas from the opening session of foursomes this morning, along with Brooks Koepka, a five-time major champion he said was built for big stages like this.
“Really at peace with where things are,” Johnson said. “Extremely confident in our 12 guys.”
Johnson is sending out world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and his close friend, Sam Burns, to face Masters champion Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton in the first of four matches in the opening session.
Four matches of fourballs follow in the afternoon, with the same schedule on Saturday and then 12 singles matches on Sunday to decide the cup. The Americans are defending champions and only need 14 out of the 28 points available to retain the Ryder Cup.
In other opening matches, Hovland and Swedish rookie Ludvig Aberg will face the Ryder Cup rookie duo of Max Homa and British Open champion Brian Harman; Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler face Sepp Straka and Shane Lowry; and the anchor match feels like heavyweight material — Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele against Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.
McIlroy is the most experienced Ryder Cup player and No. 2 in the world. Fleetwood went 4-0 in his partnership with Francesco Molinari in his memorable debut before a home European crowd outside Paris in 2018.
“It's a really strong American team, and they have a lot of really tough partnerships. We're going up against one of them tomorrow in Xander and Patrick. They've got an incredible record,” McIlroy said. “I just hope I can live up to Francesco, is really all I'm trying to do here. If I can live up to Francesco, I think we'll be OK.”