A group of Team USA Ryder Cup stars have risen to the defence of the Zach Johnson, after the American captain claimed the blame of losing to their European rivals fell on him.
Johnson's team were beaten 16.5-11.5 by Team Europe in Rome, in what proved to be a week to forget for American golf. In the aftermath, the U.S. skipper was quick to take responsibility, telling Sky Sports: "I am proud of my guys. They fought, they have got so much heart and grit.
"It is not them it is on me. Maybe there are some important decisions I can reflect on, I don't have an idea yet, but it is not on them 12 guys. They played so hard, and I am grateful for each and every one of them."
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Johnson echoed this sentiment at last week's RSM Classic, where he admitted he still had some regrets over his team's resounding loss on Italian soil. Three of his players however have been pledged their backing behind Johnson, with Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele deflecting the blame away from their captain.
Putting the responsibility on himself and his fellow players, Thomas told the Palm Beach Post : "The No. 1 regret he should have is we should have played better. We all told him that, 'Zach, it's easy to look back after a week where they just played monumentally better and we did not play well. It's easy to say you should have changed things.'
"We just should have played better for him." Fowler too believes the responsibility should not be on the shoulders of Johnson, with his players failing to really land a glove on their European rivals. "All it comes down to is we didn't play as well as the Euros did," Fowler said.
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"Zach is loved by everyone. He was great. I wish I would have been healthier that week and wish I would have been playing better and feeling better about my game." For Schauffele it appeared they was an element of regret in letting down their captain with their performances out on the golf course at Marco Simone.
On the opening day the American team failed to win a single point, before going on to win just one session across the whole week, coming in the Saturday fourballs. With sympathy for captain Johnson, Schauffele commented: "We all just wish we would have done better so Zach wouldn't have to think this way.
"When we lose, the captain gets all the heat. When we win, the players get all the credit. "We wouldn't be having this conversation if I played better or any of the guys you talked to today played better." Johnson himself opened up on what he personally would have done different to better prepare his team heading into the event.
"The common denominator that I go back to that I wish I could have changed, or not changed, I wish it would have dawned on me earlier is just the pure commodity of time and understanding that it's precious," he said. "If I could have put more value into time management, I could have put my guys in a better position to play golf at a better rate early on
