A new captain is picking up the shield for America.
According to the Associated Press, Zach Johnson will be the captain for the United States at the 2023 Ryder Cup to be held at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy.
A five-time playing member of Team USA and an assistant captain in the last two matches, Johnson brings experienced leadership to a United States squad hoping to win on European soil for the first time since 1993. Team Europe has yet to announce its captain.
At the last match in September at Whistling Straits, captain Steve Stricker led Team USA to a dominant 19-9 win before spending weeks in the hospital. Stricker was reportedly involved in the Ryder Cup committee of three PGA Tour players and three PGA of America executives who helped select Johnson as captain.
“I like Zach. He’s always been fun in the team rooms. He’s been kind of a little bit of a rah-rah guy, which is always good,” said Brooks Koepka, a three-time player for Team USA. “Some of the stuff he comes up with that the public won’t see and what we see behind closed doors is probably what makes — we all knew he was in line, knew it was going to happen sooner or later, so it’s nice to see him get one. But yeah, the stuff he does behind closed doors is what I think makes the big difference, and I think every guy that’s played on a team that he’s been an assistant or played with him would definitely agree with that and be happy to see him do it.”
The PGA of America will officially introduce the 2023 Ryder Cup captain on Monday.