Ryder Cup star takes aim at Zach Johnson over 'crazy' captaincy decision

Wyndham Clark has cast doubt on the leadership skills of former Team USA captain , comparing his captaincy unfavourably to that of Jim Furyk at the recent Presidents Cup.

Clark made his debut under Johnson in Rome last year, but it ended on a sour note as the Americans were defeated 16.5-11.5 by their European rivals. Fast forward 12 months and finally tasted victory with Team USA, playing his part in the Presidents Cup win over the Internationals.

Having now competed in both under two separate captains, the former U. S. Open champion has had time to compare the work of both Johnson and Furyk, and opted to side with the latter.

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For Clark, his career issue with Johnson centered around his lack of clarity in regard to playing partners, something Furyk was seemingly good at. "I'll give you an example," he told the No Laying Up podcast of Furyk's impressive work as a captain.

"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?'"

When it came to the Ryder Cup and Johnson though, things were different. Clark revealed the surprising disarray when he joined a team in Rome, "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.

"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."

Clark's stint included going toe-to-toe with heavyweights securing a point with Max Homa against Justin Rose and Robert MacIntyre, followed by victory over Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick with Patrick Cantlay, an event not without its drama involving Cantlay's caddie, Joe LaCava.

"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."