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According to a report from Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press this was it later confirmed by the PGA of AmericaJim Furyk will captain the US Ryder Cup for the 2027 event in Ireland. Furyk, who was the captain when the USA lost 17.5-10.5 in Paris in 2018, would be the fourth USA captain to take a runner-up post since 1979. Europe has won nine of the last 12 Ryder Cups and the Americans haven’t won overseas since 1993. Is Furyk right?
Sean Zak, Senior Writer: Furyk is a good pick, and anyone upset about this should really look around and see how much context led to this pick. Tiger Woods knocked himself out of contention, forcing a late decision from the PGA of America for a second consecutive Cup. Stewart Cink has never been the main guy. Same for Brandt Snedeker. Steve Stricker doesn’t want to do it anymore. Furyk has stayed very close to the pro game, playing on the Champions Tour and now broadcasting Tour events. He was an assistant on Keegan Bradley’s team, getting him through some tough times. Had Bradley chosen himself as captain at Bethpage, Furyk would have played a bigger role. Not to forget he was the winning captain of the President’s Cup just two years ago, down the road in Canada. He knows what he’s doing.
James Colgan, news and features editor: Maybe? It’s certainly not an inspiring choice, especially not after the Americans (and more specifically, Furyk’s captaincy choices) floundered in Paris. But Furyk is a grown man who has at least done the job before. It’s not a disastrous choice, but I’m not sure the American chances in Ireland have improved today.
Dylan Dethier, Senior Writer: Once it became clear that the original front-runner (Tiger Woods) was out and my favorite pick (Fred Couples, paired with a very specific amount) wasn’t going to happen, it turned into a giant shrug for me. Not because I don’t care or don’t think it’s important – just because I’m not sure there was a specific irrefutable correct answer. The US Ryder Cup system doesn’t have many recent heroes. But I will say this: Furyk showed plenty of humility after beating them in France in 2018, and the players raved about his Presidents Cup captaincy. I think he will do well.
But do you think there were better alternatives?
cerement: The closet was bare! Too naked. I would have accepted other options, like Stew Cink, but it really shows how insecure the candidates are. Not to mention the recent leadership changes at the PGA of America. Everything feels in flux with that organization, so having some stability in Furyk feels like the best case scenario.
Colgan: I probably would have called Keegan Bradley again.
Dethier: I’m still hoping for a Keegan comeback story where he finds his form from last year and plays his way to THIS the team. Again, Fred Couples pairing with a data scientist would have been the ultimate old school/new school pairing. But I’m not sure Fred would have accepted all the photo shoots.
But if the closet is so bare, as mentioned above, shouldn’t there be some fault for that? Meanwhile, Luke Donald is looking for his third straight win.
cerement: Everyone is guilty. Players for poor play, captains for making poor decisions, the PGA for not creating the best relationship with players, some players asking for more money – I could go on and on. All this feeds a certain culture – or rather, the lack of a certain culture that Europe has in spades.
Colgan: It’s clear that the PGA of America hasn’t done an effective job of building the infrastructure around the Cup (other than making money off of it – they’re REALLY good at that). Bradley was essentially thrown to the wolves and forced to contend with the possibility of playing in the event. There is no culture, according to Sean, and no real team identity. This shows!
Dethier: Of course there’s an alternate universe in which Phil Mickelson wins the captaincy at Bethpage Black and is on his way to back-to-back Cups at Adare Manor and, well, I just saw the next question, so let’s continue here.
The AP reported that Furyk was the choice once Tiger Woods turned down the job after his March arrest on suspicion of DUI. Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson, once thought to be the next Ryder Cup captain, has been off the radar since leaving for LIV Golf. How much, or how little, have these two affected the long-term plan for the PGA of America’s Ryder Cup?
cerement: Infinitely? Massively? Grotesquely? Are there any bigger words I’m missing? It’s possible that the two greatest American players of the 90s and 2000s will both be too chaotic to captain in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027 — perhaps just when they’re needed most. I would look to blame others more if Tiger and Phil weren’t automatic placements on the original Ryder Cup task force that was formed a decade ago.
Colgan: Yes, this is the elephant in the room. The void is THIS massive because those guys are missing.
Dethier: I went looking in the archives to find what the consensus would have been before anything and found this by Alan Shipnuck, writing about our magic: “Steve Stricker is the obvious choice for 2020, with the Cup being in Wisconsin, at Whistling Straits … after that, he lines up for Zach Johnson in ’22, Phil in ’24 and Tiger in ’26.” Covid first hit and the 2020 Ryder Cup became the 2021 Ryder Cup, but Shipnuck was still accurate for Stricker and Johnson. Then LIV went down, plus (gestures) everything else. But first, Phil and Tiger would be next – that’s what everyone assumed would happen. So, yes. Their absence has changed everything. In fairness, the European pipeline was also laid, and included several combinations of Stenson/Poulter/Westwood/McDowell before the four of them headed to LIV. Luke Donald stepped in and became arguably the greatest Ryder Cup captain in history. These things can cut both ways.
What do you think is the best option overall: a veteran captain, like Furyk, who can learn from mistakes or successes, or new blood via a rookie captain?
cerement: Veterans in the Ryder Cup, rookies in the Presidents Cup.
Colgan: I like the Vet Captain route, it’s the most defensible part of Furyk’s decision.
Dethier: If you bring in a new-blooded captain, you need to make sure there’s a rock-solid infrastructure around him – and I’m not sure Keegan Bradley had enough of that in 2025. Furyk will be a steady hand and his players should have enough of a collective chip on their shoulders that he won’t need an added speech anyway. I think I’m talking about this election more as we go here. Furyk can use decades of heartbreak and near misses in Ryder Cups as motivation. He has seen what it looks like when things go well and what it looks like when they don’t. He could be the perfect steady hand for what will be a packed Ryder Cup atmosphere.
And your first question to Furyk at his introductory press conference would be?
cerement: It’s been eight years since Paris and two years since Montreal – do you think you know what’s best to win in Ireland or do you still need next year to figure that out?
Colgan: What is the first thing you changed as a captain in 2018?
Dethier: Did you expect this job?
