“That’s disgraceful” - Analyst slams Team USA and Captain Zach Johnson for extended Pre-Ryder Cup breaks

Team USA have failed to create any impact in this year's Ryder Cup and trail to a dominant Team Europe. Europe currently have a commanding lead over their competitors and lead them by 9.5-2.5. With victory only inches away for them, this can turn out to be a remarkable win for the underdogs at the Marco Simone in Rome.

Team USA has been under massive scrutiny following their dissapointing performance and many analysts have criticized their training routine before the tournament. Former golfer and Sky Sports analyst Andrew Coltart recently reflected on USA's performance and slammed the players for taking a long leave before the competition.

Technically, 9 out of 12 players in Team USA took over five weeks off to prepare for the Ryder Cup, Coltart believes that a long leave and that wasn't the ideal way to prepare for a competition in which they were clear favourites.

"I have a massive question, and Zach Johnson is going to get hit with this. Who on earth in their right mind thinks the best way to prepare for a Ryder Cup is to take five weeks off?… Nine of the 12 American players took five weeks off…That's disgraceful," Andrew Coltart said via Sky Sports.

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Andrew Coltart couldn't have predicted the astounding lead Team Europe gained over Team USA during the Ryder Cup

Team USA entered the Ryder Cup as strong favourites and were almost nonchalant with their approach before arriving at the Marco Simone in Rome. Although Team Europe were underdogs, they were out for vengenance after the harrowing defeat at the Whistling Straights in 2021.

As Europe gained a hefty lead, even former Ryder Cup golfer Andrew Coltart was surprised about their exceptional performance in the first day of the event. Coltart confessed that he couldn't have predicted the lopsided scoreline.

"Absolutely, categorically, no," he said.

When asked if he could have predicted Europe's dominance, Coltard admitted that he did not expect these turn of events.

"We thought, two years ago, that they were going to be in this for the long haul - 10 years of domination. But their team has been a little bit depleted... and our top players didn't pitch up at Whistling Straits. Today that's exactly what they did do," he added.

Statistically, Team USA have a stronger set of players with more PGA Tour wins between them, but they looked way out of depth during the first day of action. However, the singles event still remains and USA will have to mount an almost impossible comeback to defend their title.