Expect Americans to fall with a whimper at Ryder Cup

Pathetic.

That's the only word to describe Team USA's performance on Day 1 of the 2023 Ryder Cup on Friday at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome. 

The Americans, who haven't won on European soil since 1993, came out curiously flat in the morning foursomes session and lost all four matches without much of a fight. None of the four matches reached the 18th tee. 

The U.S. made a charge in the afternoon four-ball session to take the lead in three of the four matches on the final stretch. Just when it looked like Team USA had snatched the momentum away from the home side, however, the Americans wilted down the stretch and lost the session, 2 1/2-1 1/2.

It marked the first time in Ryder Cup history America failed to win a match on a day of competition. The deplorable start puts Team Europe at a 6 1/2-1 1/2 advantage after Day 1.

All eyes now shift to captain Zach Johnson to right the ship, but he might as well be captaining the Titanic. 

Sure, Johnson deserves some of the blame, too. 

Sending out Sam Burns with Scottie Scheffler in the morning foursomes session was his first mistake. The best iron player in the world had no opportunities to make an impact due to Burns' consistently errant drives. Why did Johnson use Ryder Cup rookies Max Homa and Brian Harman while Cup vets Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka — all with multiple major championship titles — rode the bench?

Then there's the foolish decision to play Rickie Fowler and his 3-7-5 Ryder Cup record out of the gates and leave birdie machine Patrick Cantlay on the bench in afternoon four-balls.

Johnson must adjust his game plan, but it won't make a difference in the end.

"We've got a lot of hungry guys, guys who want adversity and I've got the utmost confidence in them," Johnson said, per rydercup.com. "It's about doing what they do and staying committed, and I think we've got the right guys to do that."

This United States team was thought to be a bunch of alphas —12 killers who craved the moment and would stop at nothing to end America's 30-year drought on foreign soil. But when that moment finally came, those supposed alphas melted into a puddle of insecurity. 

Meanwhile, Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm rose to the occasion and nailed lengthy putts on the 18th green to widen Europe's lead. They, and the rest of Team Europe, embodied on Day 1 what Team USA pretends to be.

If Friday is any indication of the rest of the weekend, the Americans will go down whimpering once again.