Netjets US Summer 2023
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CAPTAIN’S PERSPECTIVE<br />
Zach Johnson, U.S. Ryder Cup team captain,<br />
shares his thoughts with Farhad Heydari on the<br />
upcoming event, its toughest challenges, and<br />
its long historical resonance.<br />
JULIAN RENTZSCH<br />
Now that the PGA TOUR has joined<br />
forces with LIV Golf, will that sort of<br />
free you up mentally to potentially<br />
pick players as wildcards who are<br />
currently playing on that circuit,<br />
or is your mindset more towards<br />
picking those who have stayed loyal<br />
to the PGA through this qualifying<br />
process? Well, nothing whatsoever<br />
pertaining to the <strong>2023</strong> Ryder Cup has<br />
changed as a result of the merger. I<br />
can’t speak on behalf of Luke [Donald]<br />
and the European team, as I really<br />
don't know all the specifics behind the<br />
DP World Tour and its regulations, but<br />
the U.S. guys who are still members<br />
of the PGA of America [not the PGA<br />
TOUR] are technically still available<br />
for selection, and any guys that<br />
qualify automatically by finishing in<br />
the top six in the points list, and meet<br />
all the other qualification criteria, will<br />
make the team.<br />
You’ve got six captain’s picks at<br />
your disposal. The natural thing<br />
would be to go down the points list<br />
from 7-12, but how far down are<br />
you prepared to go to get the team<br />
balance that you want? Experience,<br />
or lack thereof, is clearly a factor<br />
when it comes to balancing out the<br />
team, but if somebody finishes well<br />
outside the top 12, the only way<br />
they’re a good pick is if they’ve just<br />
started to play really well. So I would<br />
say current form, when someone is<br />
really hot, could be a factor in my<br />
decision making. The golf course is<br />
also a factor too, in terms of picking<br />
players who are going to thrive on a<br />
course that Luke will set up to suit<br />
his team. Then, of course, there’s the<br />
overall team dynamic. How does this<br />
individual mesh with the other guys?<br />
What does it look like for pairings?<br />
What does it look like for both<br />
foursomes and fourball formats? So,<br />
it's a lot of data crunching, a lot of<br />
discussion, a lot of communication.<br />
There are obviously some difficult<br />
phone calls you are going to have to<br />
make at the end of the qualifying<br />
period to tell the guys who’s in and<br />
who has not made the cut, so to<br />
speak. How hard is that for you?<br />
Yeah, it’s one of the tough parts of<br />
the job that you know you sign up for.<br />
I’ve been on the receiving end of both<br />
calls, the one when you’re in and the<br />
one where you’re not, and I know how<br />
hard it was for the captains—Jack<br />
Nicklaus being one of them who told<br />
me I wasn’t in the team—to make<br />
those calls, but at the same time,<br />
you respect that person and their<br />
decision, whether you like it or not,<br />
as you know it’s a collective decision<br />
and not a slight on any individual. I’m<br />
not looking forward to the close calls<br />
for the ones that don’t make it, but<br />
it’s just part of the job.<br />
It’s reported that you’re bringing the<br />
team over to Marco Simone a couple<br />
of weeks before the matches to get<br />
the guys familiar with the layout. Is<br />
this something that’s ever been done<br />
by a U.S. team for an away leg before?<br />
Yes, I am taking the 12 guys that<br />
make the team over to Rome two-<br />
three weeks before the event to see<br />
the course and to get their feet on<br />
the ground. Imperative is a strong<br />
word, but I think it’s absolutely<br />
essential that we do this for a<br />
number of reasons, especially if,<br />
say, we get bad weather for the day<br />
or two before the actual matches<br />
and our practice gets affected. The<br />
other bonuses are that we get to<br />
be together as a team, get some<br />
chemistry and some camaraderie<br />
going, which is so important. The<br />
only time that I remember doing it<br />
was in 2006 at the K Club, which<br />
was actually my first Ryder Cup.<br />
Tom [Lehman] took us over to<br />
Ireland probably a month before, but<br />
the way the team is selected now<br />
has changed and so has the tour<br />
schedule, so it’s not always possible.<br />
Finally, what would it mean to<br />
you personally to be the first U.S.<br />
captain to lead the team to an<br />
away win since 1993? Obviously,<br />
that’s our ultimate goal, and if that<br />
were to happen it would be absolutely<br />
tremendous, but let’s be honest, it<br />
would not be about me, it would be<br />
about the 12 guys who go out there<br />
and win the points. While it would be<br />
amazing to win the matches, it’s just an<br />
honor to have been chosen to lead Team<br />
U.S.A., so the win would just be a bonus<br />
to what is already one of the highlights<br />
of my career. I’m not one to really get<br />
into outcomes; my role is to get my guys<br />
to be able to showcase their talent and<br />
let their golf clubs do the talking.<br />
As told to Farhad Heydari.<br />
NetJets<br />
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