GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy – After falling behind 4-0 in the morning foursomes session, it would have been understandable for U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson to adjust his game plan going into the afternoon fourball frame. But the American adjustments appeared to have been driven by more than competitive necessity.
“We’re just fighting things, I mean, internally. It’s kind of passed around a little bit, caddies, players. It is what it is,” Johnson said. “But it’s nothing more than that. Guys are fighting and playing regardless. I mean, it’s not anything that’s kind of weighed us down because of the depth we have and because of the many options we think we have.”
Johnson went on to explain his team is dealing with some “congestion” and that the “energy is probably a little low” but declined to say exactly who was dealing with illness and how that might have impacted his game plan.
After sitting Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, the most prolific American duo the last few years, in the morning, he played them in the best-ball session. Johnson also opted for Brooks Koepka, to play with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who had played with Sam Burns in the morning.
Patrick Cantlay sat out the afternoon session, which was a bit of a surprise given his record paired with Xander Schauffele, who was teamed with Collin Morikawa in fourballs. Rickie Fowler and Brian Harman also sat out the later matches after playing in the morning.
Fowler, Burns, Morikawa and Wyndham Clark will sit out Saturday’s foursomes matches, creating speculation that the U.S. groups are being impacted by the team’s health issues.
“The bottom line is there’s been some unforeseen things that we’ve had to navigate around, which is really unfortunate, in the sense of health,” Johnson said. “It’s not an excuse, because we have depth, but I’ll just say, I’m grateful we have a team doctor.”
