Jim Furyk has admitted where he believes American Ryder Cup captains have failed in recent years, with the veteran tasked with leading Team USA at Adare Manor next year.
Few figures associated with Team USA have more experience than Furyk. He played on every American side between 1997 and 2014.
Meanwhile, he captained the team at Le Golf National in 2018. He was also a part of Keegan Bradley’s backroom team at the 2025 event at Bethpage Black.
So there is an argument that the PGA of America have made a smart move turning to Furyk as Team USA prepare to try and win their first away Ryder Cup since 1993.
Jim Furyk says where American captains have failed at the Ryder Cup
The concern for American fans will be that there have been a number of occasions where lessons have seemingly not been learned. Bradley’s captaincy is likely to be remembered for a handful of bizarre decisions that certainly did not appear to do his team any favours.
Speaking on Straight Facts Homie, Furyk admitted that the communication with the team does need to improve ahead of next year.
“Our main objective on the golf side, you have to put those guys in a position where they can be successful. I mean, they’re so talented. Get him in positions, get him with partners. Whether that’s from a golf perspective, a personality perspective, get them in positions where they can go out there and shine, show off for our fans,” he said.
“On the other end, I think we have to prepare a lot better for that. I don’t think we practice it well. I’ve heard that the Europeans grow up playing foursomes a little bit more, maybe. But I will say, my first alternate shot match or game ever in a tournament in my entire life was at the Ryder Cup at Valderrama? Paired with Lee Janzen. Man, at home, I was practising, I was grabbing any friend I could to just kind of get a feel for what it was going to be like. You can’t simulate Ryder Cup pressure or playing at Valderrama, but trying. And I think just getting these guys doing it a lot earlier, talking about golf balls, talking about the shots.
“I think for us, as captains, one of the places we failed on the statistical side is really giving them an understanding of why, why you two are a great pairing, why you should be hitting off evens and odds. How you can take advantage of this golf course. I think at times that communication probably hasn’t been as strong as it should have been, and that’s on us as captains.”
What surprised Jim Furyk about the Ryder Cup captaincy in 2018
One of the worries when Furyk’s appointment was confirmed centred around how disappointing the 2018 event proved to be.
While Team USA took an early lead in the opening session, they only managed to win another 7.5 points across the week.
Pairing Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau together in foursomes was particularly strange. Three of Furyk’s captain’s picks failed to contribute anything to the scoreboard.
And Furyk went on to explain what surprised him about that experience as he prepares to lead the team for a second time.
“Yeah, I think every year that I’ve been involved with this team as a captain, vice captain, assistant, you definitely learn, you grow as a leader. You’re never staying still, right? When I was a player, I was always trying to, each and every year, it didn’t matter if I was one of the best players in the world or early on, there’s always a way to improve and always a way to strive. And so I think a couple lessons. When I look at 2018, I really hadn’t had a lot of experiences as a vice captain or an assistant. I served in ’16 and ’17. I got to see Davis Love and Strick run those teams, great friends, good leaders,” he said.
“I guess the one thing I probably didn’t understand, when you’re young, you look at it as, I’ve got these 12 players and how are we going to create the chemistry, the structure, pair them up, put them out there. As a captain, you don’t see a lot of golf. I’ll say that. You stand on part threes, guys come through, you’re relying on your vice captains and your assistants. They’re your eyes and ears. And so always listen, always hearing what they have to say.
“But really, it’s a lot more of an executive role than I expected. You know, you’re playing coach to your to your team, but it’s an executive role. It’s a large group of people. You’re looking at 12 players, 12 caddies, 12 wives. Then you’ve got your assistants and their families. And then you’ve got the coaches and the physios and whether it’s the PGA Tour, the PGA of America. At the end of the day, you’re running a group of about 75 to 100 people. And so that executive role probably was what surprised me the most in 2018.
“And I think when you look at dynasties and you look at teams and professional sports that have had huge success, it’s taking that large group, and everyone has to be on the same page. Everyone has to have the same goal. Everyone has to understand what their expectations are, and then you need to move that large group down the tracks towards that goal. And so, it was a little bit more of an executive role than I expected the first time around.”
Furyk is far too clever not to realise that the American team are being written off by most. Not only is their record across the Atlantic atrocious, but they are coming up against a European side that is a well-oiled machine.
That underdog mentality helped Ben Crenshaw’s men produce one of the all-time great comebacks in Ryder Cup history back in 1999.
Furyk needs to find a way to unlock that same spirit in his own ranks over the coming months.
