Jim Furyk is not playing this week at the PGA Championship at the Aronimink Golf Club, but he has nevertheless attracted much of the media attention in the build-up. The new United States captain for the Ryder Cup of 2027 held a wide-ranging press conference in which he made one thing very clear: the United States needs a deep transformation if it wants to win again in Europe. And he did not speak only about players, but about structure, continuity, organisation, logistics and team culture.
Furyk, who will occupy the top job in the Stars and Stripes side at Adare Manor, in Ireland, explained that the immediate objective is obvious, but that his view goes far beyond a single edition of the Ryder: “It’s no secret: we want to go there and win on foreign soil, something we haven’t done for a long time. It won’t be easy. We’ll have to fight and claw for every point, but I think we have the talent to do it”.
However, the American insisted several times that the real challenge is to build a stable long-term foundation: “We need to create a ‘blueprint’. We need to create more continuity for our players and for future captains. And we really need to make the Ryder Cup a priority every year, year after year, focusing on growing and evolving into the future”.
The 2003 US Open champion even hinted at some self-criticism about how the United States team has operated over the last decade. Furyk believes the famous plan drawn up after Gleneagles 2014 helped at the time, but that the project stalled: “I don’t think the idea is very different from 2014, but I do think we could grow and evolve much faster. I think of Hazeltine 2016 or Whistling Straits 2021 and I think there’s a very good base there. But there are many areas where we can improve: logistics, travel, schedule, pairings…”.
And there appeared one of the great recent historical problems of the United States: the foursomes. Furyk was blunt about it: “It’s very clear that we’re not prepared for that format. Right now it’s the first thing on my mind. We can’t keep digging holes on Fridays and Saturdays the way we are. We’ve tried to come back, we were even close at Bethpage, but it’s very difficult”.
The American recalled that Europe detected that advantage a long time ago and knew how to exploit it in Rome: “The Europeans made a key move in Rome by putting the foursomes first for the first time in a long time. They realised they had an advantage there and it became crystal clear. They won that session 7-1″.
Another issue he spoke at length about was the role of analytics and data. Furyk defended their usefulness, but admitted that the United States has not always applied them well: “The question is not whether we use analytics or not. The problem is how they are applied. I think where we’ve failed is probably in how we convey to players the use of that data. I hate hearing that everything revolves around analytics. It’s a useful tool, but there’s also a huge human component”.
Along those lines, he used a very graphic comparison: “Many players call the TrackMan ‘the drama box’. Well used, it’s a great tool. Misused, I’ve seen many players destroy their game. I think the same happens with the numbers and analytics”.
Furyk also praised the European model several times and especially the continuity of its historic leaders. He mentioned names like Tony Jacklin or Bernard Gallacher and acknowledged that Europe understood earlier the strategic dimension of the Ryder Cup: “I think they did an extraordinary job creating a game plan. When Seve, José María, Bernhard and so many world number ones arrived, that plan became very important and they began to have success. We were not looking at the Ryder that way then”.
The new United States captain also made clear that he does not share one of the most repeated theories about the United States‘ defeats: a lack of locker-room unity. Furyk was blunt: “I don’t buy that. I have been inside that locker room. I have seen the joy, the hugs, the cigars, the beers… and also the tears. I have seen what it means for them to play a Ryder Cup. It is the best tournament in golf for me. To say that the team doesn’t connect or that there is no unity seems to me an overly easy explanation”.
In fact, he recalled an image that particularly marked him at Valhalla 2008: “I looked at our team and they were relaxed, laughing, hugging. Then I looked at the European team and they were tense. I said to my wife: ‘My God, they look like us every year’. When you’re four points up everything seems more fun”.
Furyk also left several very interesting messages about the profile of players he will look for for Ireland. The American said he doesn’t only want talent: “I have six captain’s picks and I’m going to choose the toughest, the most competitive, those I know will enjoy playing away from home and in front of a hostile crowd”. He even admitted that he has always especially enjoyed playing Ryder Cups in Europe: “I used to get goosebumps every time I travelled to Europe and played in front of a crowd that was against me. I love that”.
He also spoke about the importance of making tough decisions with the captain’s picks and acknowledged that he learned a lot from Paris 2018: “Yes, I’m ready to make those tough decisions. We are going to form the best possible group of 12 players. There has to be cohesion, the pairs have to fit, the team must adapt to the course and I also need players in good form”. Furyk will travel to Ireland several times over the next year to study Adare Manor and said that the work has already begun: “I’m going there very soon. We’ll start identifying what type of players that course needs and what will be required to win there”.
The American’s final message was practically a declaration of intent. Furyk wants to change many things in the United States team. And he wants to do it from the inside, with a global, long-term vision: “When I talk about ‘we’, I mean a huge organisation: vice-captains, players, caddies, physiotherapists, coaches, PGA of America… My job is to get between 75 and 100 people aligned towards the same goal”
