It will fall to Jim Furyk to do what no American captain has done since 1993 – win the Ryder Cup overseas – with the news that he will captain the American team next at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027.
According to the Associated Press, which cited three sources aware of the selection process, Furyk was the PGA of America’s choice after Tiger Woods took his name out of consideration last month.
The PGA of America did not initially confirm Furyk’s selection to the AP but subsequently announced his appointment Friday afternoon.
Furyk was captain of the 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup team that lost, 17½-10½, to the Europeans in Paris, an event in which Patrick Reed criticized Furyk afterward for not playing him in more matches.
In 2024, Furyk captained the victorious U.S. Presidents Cup team in Montreal and he has served as vice captain in the Ryder Cup four times including last September for Keegan Bradley at Bethpage Black.
Woods was expected to make his decision about captaining the ’27 Ryder Cup team prior to the Masters but he withdrew from consideration after being involved in an auto accident that led to his arrest on a DUI charge. He has since stepped away from the game to seek treatment.
With Woods no longer a candidate, Furyk was part of a list that was thought to include Justin Leonard and Bradley, among others. A 17-time PGA Tour winner, Furyk is one of the game’s most respected figures and his selection does not come as a surprise. He has been involved as a player, captain or vice captain in 14 consecutive Ryder Cups since 1997.
Furyk joins Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Davis Love III, who have served as two-time captains since 1979.
It will be the third consecutive Ryder Cup that Luke Donald has captained the European side, which has won six of the last eight matches. Furyk, meanwhile, joins Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Davis Love III, who have served as two-time captains since 1979.
Furyk’s 2018 captaincy at Le Golf National was not the Americans’ finest hour. The course setup did not favor the Americans and Furyk’s captain’s picks failed to deliver.
Three of Furyk’s picks – Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau – went a combined 0-9. After the Ryder Cup loss, Reed, the reigning Masters champion, criticized Furyk for not pairing him with Jordan Spieth, given their previous Ryder Cup success.
“For somebody as successful in the Ryder Cup as I am, I don’t think it’s smart to sit me twice,” Reed told The New York Times after the matches. Reed went 1-2 in that Ryder Cup, losing two four-ball matches when paired with Woods.
The Americans’ last overseas Ryder Cup victory came at The Belfry in England in 1993. In the last seven matches played in Europe, the Americans have lost by an average of almost 4½ points, the closest losses being by one point in 2010 in Wales and one point in Spain in 1997.