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Zach Johnson has faced a lot of scrutiny over his questionable captain’s stint at last year’s Ryder Cup.
But none will hurt more than the criticism from one of your own players.
Only three players on the American team put more red on the board than Wyndham Clark in Rome, who left Italy with a 1-1-1 record in his Ryder Cup debut.
And while he only managed to deliver the same 1.5 points in this year’s Presidents Cup win, Clark is adamant that Jim Furyk’s captaincy was on a next level.
In fact, he says it was “awesome”.
“I’ll give you an example,” he told the No Laying Up podcast. “On the Saturday where we had the 36-hole day at the Presidents Cup, he told me, ‘OK Wyndham, I’m going to put you and Keegan [Bradley] out in the morning and I’m going to sit you in the afternoon. Are you good with that?'”
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He also revealed that he knew weeks in advance who he would be paired with ahead of the Royal Montreal showdown.
The Ryder Cup? Not so much.
“Honestly one of the biggest shocks when I played for the team in Rome was just that I didn’t really know who I was playing with,” he explained.
“I didn’t really know the situation, so I was just out there on the range and somebody would come up and say, ‘OK Wyndham, you’re going with so-and-so.’
“I was like, ‘OK, well, I didn’t really play a practice round with him.’ So it was just disjointed.”
Clark partnered Max Homa to a half-point against Justin Rose and fellow rookie Robert MacIntyre in the Friday fourballs as Europe took a dominating 6.5-1.5 lead into day two, before playing alongside Patrick Cantlay in that now infamous victory over Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick that sparked the wild scenes in the car park later that evening.
“It’s just crazy to me,” he continued.
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The benefits, as far as Clark can see, are vast.
“You can prepare mentally. You can say, ‘OK, I’ve only got to prepare for the morning, it is best ball, so I’m going to go and make sure that I have my best game and go out there and win and I’m going to be thinking about birdies.’
“Or, if it was alternate shot you start visualising like, ‘Hey, I know I’m just playing alternate shot so I’m going to visualise my tee shots, the putts I’m going to have, or the iron shots I’m going to have in.’
“I mean, it sounds like a no-brainer.”
Well, this could make things interesting if Johnson ends up being one of Bradley’s vice-captains…
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