While all 12 of the European Ryder Cup team compete in this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth along with captain Luke Donald, his Team USA counterpart Zach Johnson does not have the same luxury of casting his eye over all his players in a tournament ahead of the biennial match.
Nevertheless, with just two weeks until the action begins at Marco Simone in Italy, the 47-year-old will be teeing it up in the Fortinet Championship on the PGA Tour this week, with two of his 12-player team also in the field.
One of the players Johnson will be keeping tabs on is Max Homa, who appears at Silverado looking for his third successive win in the tournament, while the other is Justin Thomas, who makes his first start since the Wyndham Championship after a disappointing 2023 to date.
Given how close the 47th edition of the Ryder Cup is, there will be plenty of focus on the performances of Homa and Thomas as they aim to gather momentum before heading to Italy. However, Johnson appears determined to take the pressure off the pair this week.
Speaking to the media ahead of the tournament, Johnson initially joked: “Max and JT, I don’t really want to speak on behalf of them, but if they don’t play well, they may not play. That’s the bottom line. Kidding.”
However, he soon offered reassurances that, regardless of how they play in California this week, it will not affect his approach to the match.
He said: “Ideally they get some momentum. Momentum in this game is pretty lethal and can be a really good thing. There’s something to be said about having control of the golf ball for a period of time that shows results, but you never know when that’s going to happen and you never know when that’s going to leave either.
“I’m not giving a whole lot of merit in that regard. Plus, four days of stroke play is vastly different than five sessions of match play in three days. I mean, hopefully they show some signs of great form. I’m not overly worried about that, concerned about that.”
Johnson also explained how he thinks the extra rest most of his team have between the Tour Championship and the match could work in their favour. He said: “Sounds like the European team might…
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