Jim Furyk has responded to the suggestion that the European team care more than the Americans when it comes to the Ryder Cup.
The PGA of America still appear to be working towards trying to find the magic formula in the Ryder Cup.
There have certainly been high points, with Steve Stricker overseeing a record victory in 2021. Meanwhile, Paul Azinger introduced a system that should have arguably created a much stronger culture for years to come.
But the fact remains that Team USA have won the Ryder Cup on just three occasions since the turn of the century.
Jim Furyk responds to the perception that the American team do not care about the Ryder Cup as much
They have often had the better players on paper. Because of that, a narrative has developed that the European team care a lot more.
There is certainly a unity among the European side that seems incredibly difficult to replicate. But speaking on Straight Facts Homie, Furyk insisted the perception is extremely unfair on the American players.
“It’s a good way to preface it. I mean, I’ve always been asked, hey, it looks like the Europeans are having more fun. They look like they’re closer. They bond. They just have something that the Americans don’t. And for that, I would say they’re not in our team room. They’re not seeing the joy after wins. They’re not seeing the heartbreak, the tears after losses,” he said.
“I’ll go back to my career and you look at ’97, ’99. 99’s the first time I was involved in a winning Ryder Cup team, but we came from dead. I mean, we were four points down. We were getting trounced all week. Hal Sutton played beautifully and kind of won some points and kept us in there and gave us an opportunity. And then we had that epic Sunday. So, you know, I remember the party and I remember the jubilation, but during the week, we didn’t look like we were having a lot of fun because we were getting our tails kicked.
“Well, the first time I got to witness that was in 2008, playing under Zinger. Our team got off to a really hot start. We kind of led, from day one, day two, we were always ahead, and Saturday night, I remember, the teams always kind of huddle. You’re watching the last group. It went to the 18th hole. I’m there with my wife and we’re watching the guys on the green and we’re like loose. We’re hugging, we’re laughing. We’re telling jokes. Everyone’s smiling, having fun, and I looked across the green at the Euros. Man, quiet, tight, concerned looks on their faces, and I leaned over and whispered to my wife, and I go, they look like us every other year. And a lot of that is really, I mean, winning’s fun.
“I mean, kicking someone’s a– is a lot of fun, to be honest with you. And so, I think the look that we have on our faces is a lot more concerned. It’s a lot more, we play tight in the Ryder Cup often and I think it gets portrayed as it doesn’t matter. I think it’s easy to just say, look at how talented these guys are. And, you know, they’re losing the Ryder Cup. How can that be? I think the low hanging fruit, it’s easy to just say they’re individuals, they don’t really play a team sport.
“I think the Euros do a really good job with the media, with their social media, they portray this closeness that they have. We don’t do a good job at that at times. So our guys, you know, I think going into a Ryder Cup for the first time, like say J.J. Spaun was, there’s a lot of unknown. I love J.J., a lot of fun, great team guy. You know, I heard a lot of his quotes and read a lot of the stuff that he said about the Ryder Cup, and you know, I’m not sure we did a good job of really kind of letting him know what was coming, what was going to happen, how much fun it was going to be, how big of a presence the fans and the course and the entire thing was. And so, I love that coming out of that, he’s like, you know, wow, that was really cool. And yeah, I want to be in that position and I’d love to have that opportunity.
“I think when you get a taste of something, when I won my first professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, I was almost like, God, I’ve got to get that again. That feeling was so amazing. And then you start pressing, you get impatient. Man, when I made my first Ryder Cup team in ’97, I mean, I won’t say I was unknown, but no one expected me to make the Ryder Cup team that year. And I ripped off like eight top 10s in a row that summer and easily qualified for the team. Now, when I got a taste of team play for the first time, that was my goal each and every year. I want to be on the Ryder Cup team. I want to be on the President’s Cup team. And one of the things I’m most proud of, to be honest with you in my career, I got to play on 16 teams. I think I qualified for 17. And now I’ve been involved as a captain a lot. So, you know, the want, the heart, the grit, the passion, it’s there. It really is.”
What Shane Lowry said after the 2025 Ryder Cup that exemplifies the European spirit
The quotes from Spaun were referring to the US Open champion being caught completely off-guard by just how much the Ryder Cup would get under his skin.
Shane Lowry referred to the putt he faced to retain the Ryder Cup in New York as the opportunity to enjoy the best moment of his career to date.
Lowry, of course, is a major champion himself having won The Open Championship back in 2019.
It would be unfair to say that the American players do not care. Incredibly stoic figures such as Cameron Young and Patrick Cantlay have shown sides to themselves that are rarely seen while playing in the Ryder Cup.
Meanwhile, no one can accuse Justin Thomas or Bryson DeChambeau of not being bothered.
The American team cannot force the camaraderie that the Europeans have. That has been built over a number of decades, with someone like Seve Ballesteros remaining such a crucial presence among the team more than 15 years after his passing.
But lessons can definitely be learned. And perhaps it will be a lot easier to start putting those foundations in place now that the American team head to Adare Manor in 2027 having been written off by so many.
