There is virtually a year to go before Europe and the United States meet again in a Ryder Cup, but the Adare Manor campaign has already begun. Jim Furyk and Luke Donald, the United States and European captains, used their first joint press conference in Ireland during the ‘Year to Go‘ events to start revealing some of their cards. On one side, a deep overhaul of the Team USA model after two consecutive defeats; on the other, the continuation of a winning Europe that will also have the opportunity to shape the battleground to the characteristics of its players
The Ryder Cup will return to Ireland for the first time since 2006 and will do so in an especially symbolic edition, the competition’s centenary. Adare Manor will host, from 13 to 19 September 2027, an event in which Europe will seek a third consecutive victory after those at Marco Simone and Bethpage Black
And Furyk does not hide that those last two results have forced the United States to rethink some things. “We are not happy at all with the last two results. So yes, there will be changes. We are going to evolve. We are going to improve”, he said. Some are already visible: “A new points system, a new analytics team and other changes that are on the way and that excite us a lot”
The new US qualification system will award the first six places automatically and leave the other six picks in Furyk‘s hands. But the captain intends to go much further. His aim is to change the way his team operates, not only thinking about Adare Manor: “I’ve had some ideas about how I think Team USA could and should operate in the future. Terry Clark and I are aligned and I feel very fortunate to have been chosen to lead those changes, not only here at Adare Manor, but for the years ahead”
Furyk’s obsession: the foursomes
There is one hole that worries the American in particular: the foursomes. Furyk openly acknowledges that the poor recent results in the alternate-shot format have ceased to be a coincidence. “It’s not an anomaly. There are problems. We understand that and I’m not happy about it. I intend to make changes”
And there he launched one of his most forceful messages of the whole appearance: “As captains we have to do better, not just by putting players in good pairings and positions. I don’t think we are preparing those matches in the right way. And I promise that we will be ready. I’m going to ask this team for more than has been asked of any other United States team in the past”. Furyk believes the depth of American golf makes it hard to justify their recent poor record in this format: “We have too much talent to have such a poor record in alternate shot”
That work will start long before Ryder week. Furyk intends to bring players to Adare Manor next summer to learn the course and practise specifically for the foursomes. “We have to have options. We have to move forward and we need to practise it much more. I’m looking forward to bringing some players here next summer and working on that format. For me it’s a priority”
He also expects significant involvement from potential team members during that visit. “The request will be made to everyone and I hope everyone makes the maximum effort to be here”, he said. And he explained what he means by demanding more of the next United States team: “First, being here at Adare Manor next summer. But it has a lot to do with preparation, with the whole prior process, with the veterans taking the young players under their wing and with not viewing this just as a group of 12 players, but as a team, as a broader programme that we can build for the future”
Donald can ‘shape’ Adare Manor
While the United States changes its structure, Europe has another powerful tool in its hands: the course. Donald confirmed that significant modifications have not yet been made to Adare Manor, but made clear which levers the home team can use
“We have options as the home team to potentially narrow the fairways, let the rough grow a bit, or decide how fast the greens will be that week”, he explained. There will be, in principle, no structural transformations: “We’re not talking about adding bunkers, removing trees or changing greens. It’s a course that is already spectacular”
Donald also described some of the challenges players will have to solve: “There are many elevated greens, many cut areas around them and, if you miss by a bit, the ball can end up 40 or 50 yards from the hole”. And he highlighted a finishing stretch specially designed to generate drama in match play: a short par four, a par three with water in front, the demanding 17th and an 18th par five where taking risks can decide matches. “It’s spectacular and will be a great amphitheatre for this Ryder Cup”
The setup can also directly influence his six captain’s picks. Donald admits his criteria will differ from those used for Bethpage. There he prioritised experienced players used to competing in the United States and under enormous crowd pressure. In Ireland it will be different. “Decisions for this one will change. We’ll have a good idea of what this course demands and we’ll see if some of the players on the edge have skills that could fit particularly well at Adare Manor”
Furyk knows that advantage well. “Luke has the opportunity to prepare the course in an attempt to tilt the balance towards Europe“, he acknowledged before assuming a role that historically does not usually fall to the United States: “We are the ‘underdogs’. Normally Americans are talked about as favourites. This time there is no chance of that happening”
And there is a figure that Furyk knows he will hear many times over the coming months: the United States have not won a Ryder Cup on European soil since 1993. “It’s been 34 years since we won in Europe. It’s no secret. I’m going to hear it again and again and again, so I’m going to embrace it”
Donald doesn’t buy the favourite tag
Donald, however, also does not intend to comfortably accept the opposite label. “I have zero complacency about how strong the United States are going to be. They always are. On paper they are usually stronger than us by world ranking”, he said
The Englishman is also closely following his rival’s moves. “I’ve seen what Jim is doing behind the scenes, changing the stats, changing the qualification system. He’s very, very motivated to come here and fight and I’m equally motivated to keep finding those small advantages for my team”
Even after two consecutive wins, Donald wants to retain one of the hallmarks he considers essential for Europe: “For us, not being favourites is a mindset. We always want to prove something to ourselves and to the rest of the world. We understand that playing at home is an advantage, but we also know the United States are very strong”
Furyk learns from Paris
For Furyk, Adare Manor also represents an opportunity to correct what happened during his first Ryder Cup captaincy, at Le Golf National in 2018. The American believes that back then some of his picks did not quite fit the demands of the course
“In retrospect, maybe we didn’t have the right horses for that course”, he admitted. That experience has changed his way of understanding a team competition: “My thinking and my process have evolved. The way I look at our team, the dressing room, how we pair players, how we come together, how we find those paths that really build a team…”
He also admits he arrives in a different place himself: “I was a bit inexperienced in 2018 and now I’ve had the opportunity to do this several times. It’s a great help”. Furyk cites especially the continuity provided by former captains like Davis Love III and Steve Stricker as part of a structure he intends to continue developing
His recipe for forming pairings will mix course, statistics and personal relationships. “I start with the course. What is it asking of the player? Then you can look at it from the personalities’ point of view. Statistically we both use analytics. It’s a magnificent tool, but you have to use and apply it correctly”. Furyk places special trust in his new data team and in his vice-captains Justin Leonard and Stewart Cink to gather information before making final decisions
Donald’s response to the foursomes and the singles
Europe knows exactly where much of its two recent wins were built. “It’s no secret that we’ve done very well in foursomes. It has been a very important part of the success of the last two Ryder Cups“, Donald acknowledged
But he does not take for granted that that superiority will continue. “It would be naive to think we will always be able to maintain the same success. You can tell by how Jim talks and by the preparation they are making that they are very focused on it”
Donald also has another concern after what happened at Bethpage: the singles. “I don’t want to feel again the way I felt that Sunday. It was hard to see the United States come back so strongly. It showed the courage and resilience that team has”. That is why his preparation will not be limited to maintaining the advantage in foursomes: “There are 12 points in the singles. That’s a lot of points, so it will be better to pay attention to them as well”
Furyk agrees with the diagnosis from the other side. He does not regard the United States’ Sunday reaction as something that can hide the earlier problems: “I don’t know if I’d call it a consolation. It showed the heart, the courage, the confidence and the fight of those players, but you also have to look at the first four sessions”. His conclusion is simple: “We have to get to Sunday in a much better position”
Patrick Reed has the door open
Another relevant matter was Patrick Reed. Furyk was asked directly about his complicated past relationship with the 2018 Masters champion and completely left open the possibility of bringing him back into his team
“We are going to put the best 12 players in this team, the best team of 12. If Patrick Reed is one of them, fantastic”, he stated. “He hasn’t been in our dressing room for a long time. If Patrick and I have that conversation, I will be delighted to welcome our best 12″
The American captain insists he wants players particularly prepared for the atmosphere they will find in Ireland. “I need 12 guys who love that atmosphere, who love stepping into that kind of stage, because it requires a certain mindset. Those are the players I’m going to look for”
Rory, Donald’s leader
If Furyk spoke of veterans able to guide the next generation, Donald named the great reference in his dressing room: Rory McIlroy. “We all remember what he said in his first Ryder, that he thought it was going to be some sort of exhibition. He played the first one and discovered that it was far from that, that it was the most fun and enjoyable event he’d been part of”, he recalled
For Donald, McIlroy has grown in parallel with his record. “He’s changed as a person as his role and everything he’s achieved in golf has grown. Every time he achieves something he feels he has more responsibility as a leader. He loves the Ryder Cup passionately, he loves competing, he loves being a teammate and speaking up when he feels he can help. He does a great job and I’m very lucky to have him in my team”
Donald also celebrated the recent wins of Shane Lowry and Adrian Meronk. Of the Irishman he highlighted especially what it would mean to play a Ryder at home: “I know the Ryder Cup is a huge target for him, especially playing here in Ireland. He will do everything he can to be part of this team”. About Meronk, he valued that his victory opens more opportunities to compete and accumulate points to try to get among the six who qualify automatically
The crowd, after Bethpage
The behaviour of the spectators also occupied a significant part of the press conference after the excesses experienced at Bethpage. Furyk did not dodge the issue: “We have to recognise that the behaviour of the fans at Bethpage crossed the line”. And he assured that the PGA of America is taking measures “so that this does not happen again”
He expects something different from the European crowd: “We admire how well organised they are, how they use football chants to make even more noise in unison. I hope they cheer and support their team as they always have”
Furyk also clearly differentiated Bethpage from what happened recently at Medinah during the Presidents Cup and regretted certain isolated episodes: “We want the game to shine, we want these players to be the stars and for both teams to have every opportunity to show what they’re worth”
Donald assumes a special responsibility as the home captain. “It’s my responsibility to play this Ryder Cup with the right spirit. We want the best team on the course to win”. And he added: “Having strong values and behaving in the right way is important. I will pass that on to my players and to the fans. I expect a very enjoyable but fiercely contested Ryder”
A different Ryder also for Donald
After two winning captaincies, Donald will face a third consecutive one at Adare Manor, which also forces him to reinvent himself. “Every Ryder Cup is unique. Whether you play at home or away, the course, the players you captain… everything changes. The task is always different”
In fact, he admits that the need to offer something new was one of the factors he considered before agreeing to continue. “The players know me fairly well and expect something different each time”. His aim will be to find again an idea around which to build the group: “We will unite around something, we will find an idea that gets all these players focused and puts them in the right mental state”
The historic component ultimately convinced him. “I feel very honoured to be captain with the centenary at stake. I spent a few months thinking about whether to try for a third time, but once I made the decision I went for it”. And Adare Manor had a lot to do with it: “A big part of the reason was that it would be here, in Ireland. Having a Ryder Cup in Ireland in the centenary is going to be incredible”
Furyk also knows well what an Irish Ryder means. He was at the K Club in 2006 and, beyond the emphatic American defeat, he especially preserves the memory of the support received by Darren Clarke after the death of his wife Heather. “Seeing the touching support he received from the fans that week almost makes you cry. That is my special memory”
Twenty-one years later, Ireland will welcome the Ryder again. And this time the sporting preparations have started long before the first tee appears. Furyk wants to change the way the United States operate, prepare the foursomes much more and build a programme that survives Adare Manor. Donald intends to evolve a European model that has two consecutive wins and use every last detail that playing at home provides
“It’s time for us to evolve and counterattack”, summarised Furyk when talking about how Europe historically transformed the balance of the Ryder Cup. One year from Adare Manor, that counteroffensive is already underway
