“You're always going to be up against it” - Golf pundit criticizes US Ryder Cup team for lack of professionalism and respect

Golf analyst Andrew Coltart saw the Americans fade away in the Ryder Cup and claims to know what went wrong. Rather than a lack of talent or effort, the Sky Sports pundit believes it starts and ends with the team's heart.

Despite being made up of talented players, the Americans struggled at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome. According to Golf Magic, Coltart says it's not necessarily a lack of talent that saw Team USA fall short at the 2023 Ryder Cup.

"Before we talk about the captains, you've got to take 12 players who want to play for your red, white and blue. Because what I see is that's not the case. There might be 10 of them, that might've been the case this year, there might be nine. I'm not seeing 12 players that want to play – you guys had a team two years ago at Whistling Straits that was meant to dominate for 10 years," Coltart said.

Comparing the effects of LIV Golf on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, Coltart admitted that the PGA Tour was probably more depleted by LIV Golf's rise than the DP World Tour. Coltart also claimed that the DP World Tour had players in better form regardless of external factors.

He continued:

"At Whistling Straits, we didn't. But you need to get 12 players who want to play. I can't stand listening to some of these multi-millionaires b****ing – pitching up to a Ryder Cup and – 'Somebody's not paying me any money for it'."

Coltart said there was something wrong with their "psyche" if that's how they felt, and he wouldn't have anyone like that on his team whether or not they qualified. He finished by saying:

"I find it disgraceful. You go to the DP World Tour – every single man will bleed for that team. They will pay to play a Ryder Cup, not the other way around. Until you sort that out, you're always going to be up against it."

Coltart believes the most pressing issue facing the American side for the Ryder Cup is not talent, but will. He believes the idea that these players want to be paid to represent their country is what's driving their downfall.

For what it's worth, Patrick Cantlay denied the initial reports that he was protesting a lack of pay. He dismissed the claims stating:

"Not a shred of truth in it. The cap just didn't fit."

Coltart likely isn't buying that, and he believes there are deep issues within the US Ryder Cup team.

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Golf analyst rips multitude of issues with the USA Ryder Cup squad

Andrew Coltart had other issues with the American team as well. According to reports, Justin Thomas didn't like the layoff between the season-ending FedEx Cup and the Ryder Cup, hinting that rust might have played a factor.

What went wrong at the Ryder Cup?

The pundit didn't hold back on that idea either:

"Where's the respect for Zach Johnson and that task force that you can't be bothered playing for five weeks prior to a Ryder Cup? It's not just you you're letting down, what about the American fans?," Coltart said.

Andrew Coltart further added:

"What about the people who paid for the trip to get over there to Rome to support you? And you're only going to give it a half-baked opportunity? And it was no surprise that guess what, you started to play more like you could play at the end of the week when it was basically all but lost? I just don't understand."

He compared the Ryder Cup to the Olympics and said he couldn't believe an Olympic athlete would take that much time off before the event because they would know they couldn't perform to standards. He called it "really, really poor" to cap off the epic rant.