Newtown Square (United States) (AFP) – Jim Furyk said Wednesday he wants a long-term blueprint for United States success in the Ryder Cup, with the 2027 American captain also seeing a possible role next year for Tiger Woods. Furyk, the 2018 US captain in a Ryder Cup loss in France, was handed the captain’s role by the PGA of America last month. Woods had been considered for the job, but the 15-time major winner has taken a break from golf while undergoing treatment after facing DUI charges from a March car crash.
“We haven’t spoken yet,” Furyk said of Woods. “Out of courtesy and for him, his family, and I know maybe a road to health, I haven’t reached out, but I will. Definitely.” Woods could have a role with the 2027 team, Furyk said. “We’ll see where that role may fall,” Furyk added. “In the past, he has kind of taken a backseat and maybe served as an advisor. I enjoyed serving as a vice captain with him a number of times. He brought a lot to the team room, a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience.”
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Furyk, who turned 56 Tuesday, spoke at Aronimink on the eve of the PGA Championship and only miles from where he grew up. The Americans, who have lost 11 of the past 15 Cups, will try to win in Europe for the first time since 1993 when they face Luke Donald’s trophy holders next year at Adare Manor in Ireland. “When I look at my job, it’s really to create a culture, a chemistry amongst them, and put them in positions where they can be really successful,” Furyk said. “We want to go over there and win on foreign soil, something we haven’t done in a long time. It’s not going to be easy. We have to scratch and claw, but I think we have the talent to be able to do that.”
“Then I really look at it from a long-term perspective. We need to create a blueprint. We need to create more continuity for our players and our future captains.” Since making his debut as a player in 1997, Furyk has been in 14 consecutive Cups as US player, assistant captain, and captain. Furyk said some captains had not been put in a strong place to succeed, noting Tom Watson in a 2014 loss at Gleneagles that led to the creation of a Ryder Cup board to better prepare American teams.
“I’m not going to point a finger at anyone. We’re all in this together, from the PGA of America to Team USA to our captains to our players,” Furyk said. “But I believe we had a vision in ’14 that got us to a certain point. I just don’t think we evolved along the way. Whether it’s PGA of America, and its captains, probably could have done a better job together creating a better team atmosphere.”
Furyk also sees his role as setting up a roadmap to success at Adare Manor and beyond. “I don’t think the idea is much different than 2014, but I think we could grow, we could evolve, at a much better rate,” Furyk said. “There’s a lot of stones to be unturned.” Furyk noted Europe’s foursomes domination, a combined 13-3 edge in the past two events. “It’s pretty glaring we’re not prepared for that format,” Furyk said. He added that US players were not put in the best position to win last year in a loss at Bethpage. “They gave us 110 percent. Did we get the result we wanted? No. Did we play our best? No,” Furyk said. “Our captains, did we put them in the best position to be successful? Probably not.”
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