Zach Johnson shares his team is fighting a bout of congestion after the disastrous opening day in Ryder Cup
The United States, led by Zach Johnson, did not have a great performance on the first day of the 2023 Ryder Cup. Except for the three tied four-ball matches, all the pairs lost their matches at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome.
The European team have taken a huge five-point leap against the visitors after the end of the first day of the 44th edition of the biennial event.
However, Zach Johnson is least interested in the team's performance. Instead, he is worried about the health-related problems the United States camp has been facing.
In one of the follow-up questions in the post-round interview, Zach Johnson was asked if there was some sort of cold thing passed onto the United States camp due to which a few young players were seen sniffling a lot during their respective press conferences.
The captain replied by acknowledging that there was some sort of "congestion" in their camp. But, he added that they were trying to cope with the "unfortunate". Johnson said (Quotes via Golf Digest):
"We have got some congestion and some just signs of things that are unfortunate. It's one of those where sometimes the energy is probably a little low, but the ability and desire to go out and play is still there. That's what we are weighing. Every one of them still wants to play every match, which is encouraging."
"You've got to feel bad for a guy who has waited years for the opportunity to captain a Ryder Cup team" - Zach Johnson
Zach Johnson also opened up on being a little sorrowful about the fact that the team is not 100 percent fit after his waiting for years to captain the US side at the Ryder Cup. He told the media:
"You've got to feel bad for a guy who has waited years for the opportunity to captain a Ryder Cup only to have a team playing at less than a 100 percent when it finally happens, but that's sports," Johnson said.
Johnson added people might think that he was making excuses for the "brutal start" at the tournament. But he was telling the truth, and the "Team USA and their doctors" were doing their job to make the team fully fit through the weekend.
"And, of course, there will be some people out there who think Johnson is just making excuses for his squad's brutal start. Regardless, Team USA—and its doctor—certainly have their work cut out for them this weekend," Zach Johnson said.
The second day will resume at 01:35 a.m. ET with Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth taking on Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood in the first foursome match on Friday (September 30) morning.