Jim Furyk tells US players they need to make Ryder Cup more of a priority

Jim Furyk has admitted the United States need to make the Ryder Cup more of a priority as the 56-year-old plots a reversal of fortunes at Adare Manor in September 2027.

Speaking expansively for the first time since being handed the US captaincy for a second time, Furyk pointed towards an overhaul of approach to the biennial event. Furyk also suggested he will be keen to involve Tiger Woods on his backroom team.

Victory for Europe at Bethpage last year means the US have won just two of the past eight Ryder Cup stagings. The PGA of America wanted Woods to assume the captaincy for Adare, a scenario that was subject to delay before it was rendered impossible by the 15-time major winner’s Florida car crash in March. Enter Furyk, who was the captain when the US were trounced in Paris in 2018.

It seems, however, that Furyk has an abundance of ideas on how to improve matters for his country. That will start with insistence of an attitude shift. The lingering sense is always that Europeans care more about the Ryder Cup than their opponents.

“So 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. “Then I really look at our organisation top to bottom and having really two sets of goals. First, short term, no secret, we want to be successful at Adare. 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, and something we really need to improve on and get better at. I like to say we need to create a blueprint. We need to create more continuity for our players and for our future captains. And we really need to start making the Ryder Cup more of a priority each and every year, year in and year out, and focus on growing and evolving into the future. So that’s something that I really take seriously.”

It feels unwise to dismiss Furyk’s chances, given Europe will be in the unusual position of heavy favourites in Ireland regardless of what happens between now and then. The Americans may relish being underdogs.

On the eve of the US PGA Championship at Aronimink in Furyk’s native Pennsylvania, Woods remained a theme. Woods is taking time away from golf to “seek treatment” after his accident, with his professional future wholly unclear. Furyk has not spoken to the 50-year-old but wants him in the Ryder Cup equation.