Wyndham Clark Details How 'Disjointed' And 'Crazy' Zach Johnson's Ryder Cup Captaincy Was In Italy

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The 2024 Ryder Cup this past fall was a disaster for the United States as it was embarrassed by Team Europe in Italy, and American Wyndham Clark has confirmed what everyone was already assuming: Zach Johnson was in over his head as U.S. team captain.

Clark, who went 1-1-1 in Italy, was also a member of the U.S. Presidents Cup team, which took care of business last month in Canada under team captain Jim Furyk. 

During a recent appearance on the No Laying Up podcast, Clark reflected on both experiences representing the United States and couldn't help but compare the two. 

It was not a glowing endorsement for Johnson, to put it mildly.

Clark understandably appreciated Furyk giving him a heads up about who he would be teeing it up with, while Johnson didn't give him or other members of the U.S. team that luxury in Italy.

"On the Saturday where we had the 36-hole day at the Presidents Cup, [Furyk] 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," Clark said. "Are you good with that?'"

Wyndham Clark Admits He And U.S. Teammates 'Screwed Up' Heading Into Ryder Cup

Wyndham Clark was not a fan of Zach Johnson and his Ryder Cup captaincy style in Italy. (Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

Clark also shared that he knew weeks in advance who he would play with during the Presidents Cup, while at the Ryder Cup he was only given a heads up literal minutes before.

"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," Clark 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. It's just crazy to me."

Some may find Clark's comments about Johnson a bit whiny given that he's a Top 10 player in the world, and he should have been able to plug-and-play with anyone on the loaded U.S. team, but when you're trying to win your first Ryder Cup on foreign soil since 1993, ample prep time seems like a no-brainer.

Clark thought the same.

"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 visualizing like, ‘Hey, I know I’m just playing alternate shot so I’m going to visualize 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."

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.