Zach Johnson Faces Steep Challenge As 2023 Ryder Cup Captain

It recently came out that Zach Johnson was expected to be named the next captain of the United States team for the 2023 Ryder Cup according to the Associated Press.

Zach, a two-time Major Champion, will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders going into the 2023 Ryder Cup should the announcement be made official as expected. The U.S. team is coming off of one of the most dominant wins in the competition’s illustrious history after it soundly beat the European Team at Whistling Straits, in Wisconsin, last September 19 to 9.

Captain Steve Stricker, Vice-Captain Zach Johnson, and the rest of the U.S. team produced a masterpiece that led the nation in their quest to reclaim the Ryder Cup after suffering defeat at Le Golf National in France in 2018.

The United States team is full of talent and many of the same names will expect to be on the plane to Europe in 2023, the task in front of Zach Johnson’s team?, follow up the win in 2021 by accomplishing something that no U.S.A. Ryder Cup captain has been able to do since 1993, beat the European Team on European soil.

Tom Watson’s U.S. team was the last to accomplish that feat when they won at The Belfy, in England, in 1993. The European team would come back from a deficit to claim the 15-13 victory. The Americans have lost six in a row on their travels since then.  That is the task that Zach Johnson will have to face when he takes  America to Rome, Italy, in 2023. The Italian capital will host the Ryder Cup for the very first time next year as the historic competition is set to take place at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, just outside of Rome.

Pressure will be at an all-time high on American shoulders to break the streak in Europe next after such an emphatic win last September, in some ways that only makes Johnson’s task more difficult. Members of the 2021 team have already spoken out on their support for the expected captain.

“He’s a great guy. I think everybody that’s played on a team that he’s been on or been an assistant with him I think knows that it’s deserved, and happy to see it,” said Brooks Koepka during this week’s Honda Classic.

Much of the talk at PGA National this week has centered around the expected appointment of Zach Johnson, and while he himself has had little to say on the matter at this time, others have voiced their support.

"“he’s played on TOUR for so long and he’s so well respected among us out here that when he says something, you listen. Having spent some time with him at the Ryder Cup this year, I know he’s going to make a great captain.” – Daniel Berger"

Berger added after a fantastic opening round 65 on Thursday at the Honda. Patrick Reed, Stewart Cink, and even Luke Donald, all praised the appointment as well. The European captain has yet to be named, but an announcement is expected sometime soon. One thing is certain, whoever is named captain for the Europeans will be expecting a mighty response from his side next year.

The fightback from the Europeans at the 2023 Ryder Cup will be fierce, and even though the U.S. team may have the more talented team on paper, they will have to withstand heightened expectations and succeed where others before them have failed in order to break the streak.

The 44th Ryder Cup may be the best chance that the Americans have had in a very long time to win on European soil.

If not 2023 with this team, then when?. That will be the question that Zach Johnson should ask of the team he takes to Italy. They have every chance of ending the losing streak on foreign ground in 2023. Zach will know all of this, and he will know the massive challenge he and the team will bear when they travel across the World next year. It won’t be easy, but if history is any indication, it seldom has been.

The 44th Ryder Cup will take place in Rome in 2023, future venues include the Bethpage Black Course in New York in 2025, and The Golf Course at Adare Manor in County Limerick, Ireland, in 2027.