- Team USA got off to a miserable start on the opening day of the Ryder Cup
- Former European team member Andrew Coltart criticized the visitors’ preparation
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Former Team Europe Ryder Cup star Andrew Coltart has criticized the US for their ‘disgraceful’ preparation heading into this year’s competition.
The Ryder Cup is the pinnacle of golf, with the 44th edition taking place at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club on the outskirts of Rome.
Team USA was the favorite heading into the opening day but collapsed spectacularly as Europe stepped on the accelerator and stormed to a 4-0 morning session before ending the day 6 1/2-1 1/2 against the visitors.
Europe’s advantage is the joint-largest first-day score in Ryder Cup history and Coltart was disgusted by the approach of certain Americans participating in the competition.
The BMW PGA Championship was used by a host of European stars as a practice session for the major team event. In contrast, nine out of twelve American participants chose to take a holiday break.
Zach Johnson watched his USA team get dominated on the opening day of the Ryder Cup
Team Europe stormed to a clean sweep in the opening session before also dominating in the afternoon session
Former European star Andrew Coltart (right) branded America’s preparation for the tournament as ‘disgraceful’
“I have a huge demand and Zach Johnson is going to work on it,” Coltart told Sky Sports.
‘Who in the world thinks taking five weeks off is the best way to prepare for a Ryder Cup?
‘Nine of the twelve American players took five weeks off. That’s shameful.’
America arrived in Italy not with hopes, but with the expectation that they would retain the Ryder Cup after their dominance on home soil two years ago.
Xander Schauffele even went so far as to admit that this wouldn’t require anything ‘special’, now that the US is going to need all the magic it can think of to turn things around.
Nine of the 12 American stars decided to take a long break while playing for the Ryder Cup
Brooks Koepka struggled to match his American PGA title-winning form on day one of the Ryder Cup
Delving deeper into Zach Johnson’s side after Justin Rose ensured the points would be shared in the final foursome of the day, Coltart insists the general consensus was the day one drama could never have been expected.
“Absolutely, categorically not,” he said when asked if Europe’s lead on day one could be predicted.
‘Two years ago we thought they were going to be in this for the long haul: ten years of domination.
“But their team is a bit depleted… and our top players didn’t show up at Whistling Straits. That’s exactly what they did today.’