[Photo: Michael Reaves/PGA of America]
Jim Furyk was not expecting to get another chance to serve as US Ryder Cup captain, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t ready to take the reins again when the PGA of America called on him to lead the American team next year at Adare Manor in Ireland.
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The PGA announced on Friday that Furyk has accepted the assignment of leading the US team for the 46th Ryder Cup. His selection comes in the wake of Tiger Woods withdrawing his name from consideration after he was involved in a car accident on March 27 near his home in Jupiter, Florida, and was charged with DUI. A few days later, Woods announced that he was stepping away from the game to focus on his health. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“I’ve been thinking about this for years, if that makes sense, and I’ve been working on it for months, since we left Bethpage – not necessarily knowing the captaincy would come up again,” Furyk told Golf Digest in a telephone interview. “It started with exit interviews at Bethpage and talking with [past] captains and assistants and players from that team, just talking about our future and how we can and want to improve. I’m honoured to get chosen to lead our side again.”
Furyk, 55, was captain in 2018 in Paris when the Europeans rolled to a 17½ to 10½ victory, and he has been a vice-captain five times, including last year under Keegan Bradley at Bethpage, where Europe orchestrated a stunning two-point decision under Luke Donald despite a furious American rally in singles.
A 17-time PGA Tour winner and past US Open champion, Furyk also was the winning captain when the US defeated the International team in the 2024 Presidents Cup in Montreal.
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Donald returns for a third time, attempting to become the first European captain to win three straight when the Ryder Cup is contested from September 17-19, 2027. Furyk is charged with leading a US team to victory abroad for the first time since 1993.
“I’m well aware of our record in Europe, and I’m sure I will be reminded of it quite often in the coming months,” said Furyk, who compiled a 10-20-4 record in nine Ryder Cups as a player. “Clearly, it’s a huge challenge, and we need to find a way to meet that challenge better than we have been. I’m looking forward to that journey to help figure it out.”
Photo: Maddie Meyer/PGA of America
While Furyk was not aware that he was in the running for a second assignment as captain, a source familiar with the selection process said that the PGA had made contingencies in case Woods decided to not serve as captain in 2027. Woods was the frontrunner for the captaincy in 2025 but declined the offer, leading the PGA to bring in Keegan Bradley, who never had served as an assistant captain in the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup. This time, Furyk was the top option on the PGA’s radar in case Woods was not available.
“It was never a slam dunk that Tiger would agree to do it,” the source said. “Think of Tiger as 1A and Jim as 1B.”
“I think it’s a brilliant pick and exactly who we need to start rebuilding a culture of success and bringing in a consistent plan,” said Paul Azinger, the winning US captain in 2008, who recently lobbied the PGA of America to create a permanent Ryder Cup director position within the organisation that would oversee US competitive interests and build the kind of leadership structure that has made Europe so successful. Since 2000, the European squad is 9-3 against the United States.
Furyk admitted that he sees a larger mission while preparing the US for Adare Manor. Like Azinger, he believes it’s time for the US to invest in a vision that maps out future programs and strategies to strengthen America’s prospects in the biennial competition.
“I love the Ryder Cup. This will be my 15th Ryder Cup starting in 1997,” Furyk said. “I’ve been thinking about our team, and I’ve been thinking about our future, really, for years. I kind of see my role as twofold. There’s the short-term goal of what we need to do to win at Adare Manor, but just as important – and maybe even more important – is that we need to align our long-term goals as well. I want to help us identify future captains and get them involved earlier and create more synergy. We’ve talked about these things for years. It’s become a necessity.”
