10 US Ryder Cup changes marked under new captain Jim Furyk
It was a huge credit to Jim Furyk’s Ryder Cup captaincy, and he hopes it could be his biggest asset: he’s done this before, and failed.
On Wednesday morning at the PGA Championship at Aronimink, the golf world heard from Furyk for the first time since taking on the role of Ryder Cup captain for the second time. When it was announced, Furyk’s captaincy was met with … anger, after overseeing the US’s most successful Ryder Cup defeat in Paris in 2018.
Now, however, Furyk appears to be entering the limelight as a changed man, and his message to the golf world reflects that.
“There is no problem with effort,” Furyk said. “There is a strategic and structural problem.”
Yes, we’ve done this before with Furyk – first at the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, when he talked about his hopes for the American team that didn’t make it in the previous Ryder Cup trip across the pond. In that press conference, Furyk spoke at length about what he’s learned from past captains, and how excited he is about the star-studded lineup led by Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka.
This year, the picture is not very good. The Americans have lost two straight Ryder Cups without appearing to be particularly competitive, and the PGA of America’s role as tournament administrators has been called into question. Furyk’s ascension as captain seemed to reveal a lack of American leadership and a lack of cohesive strategy.
But speaking to the station on Wednesday morning, Furyk spoke candidly about the number of problems he hopes to fix – and the changes he hopes to make – as captain of the 2027 team at Adare Manor. Let’s dive into each below.
10 changes to the US Ryder Cup
1. Fixing a ‘clear’ problem
It’s no surprise to anyone who’s watched the Ryder Cup over the past few years, but the Americans have a lot of work to do as far as other shots are concerned. The US team has been smoked in multiple Ryder Cups past this stage — 6-20 over the past three Cups, by Furyk’s estimation — making it a difficult hole for any team to climb out of.
Furyk indicated that he would look at various ways to fix the foursomes problem on the US side, including the team’s current deployment of statistics and its roster and pairings during the week of the tournament.
“It’s no secret that foursomes have been a big problem,” said Furyk. “Our team in the last two Ryder Cups on Friday and Saturday, we celebrated big holes.”
2. Are you reviewing the points system?
One topic that seems to have caught Furyk’s attention in recent days is the Ryder Cup points system, which is used during the two-year window between Ryder Cups to determine the six automatic qualifiers for the American team.
Furyk suggested that the Americans look to change the points system, perhaps changing the emphasis in Cup years to ensure that the qualifiers are in top form.
“I think we’ll probably end up doing some sort of points system,” Furyk said. But I also have ideas on how to do that. Nothing has been decided.”
And if that change could free this year’s events from the schedule entirely, even if we’re almost halfway through the season?
“This year can count. We may shorten the window,” said Furyk. “I don’t think there’s a problem with retroactive changes.”
3. Captain’s picks remain
Team USA has increased its number of captains ahead of the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits with great success, but the drama surrounding the formation of the Cup teams since has led some to question whether the choice of six captains is too many (or too few).
Furyk sees no such problem, suggesting that the current system helps identify the best players while leaving enough room for program configuration.
4. A close eye on analytics
American analytics team – Scouts Inc. – became more vulnerable due to its way of building the list in 2025. In Bethpage, the Americans twice eliminated the last-place pairing of Collin Morikawa and Harris English. DataGolf’s the pairing’s power rating also seems to work against conventional wisdom about both players’ form and competitive strength. The Europeans, on the other hand, rely on analytics guru Edoardo Molinari, whose roster decisions have had a positive impact on the American side.
Furyk did not criticize the US analytics team at Scouts but suggested he would make a decision about moving forward with the company next month.
“No decision has been made at that time about the future, but it will be taken here next month for sure,” he said. “That’s my job.”
5. Additional statistical changes
However, even if the Scouts stay in the fold, Furyk said it is likely that their role will be greatly adjusted.
“The way we used them, and most importantly, how we discussed that and how we communicated with the players needs to be much better,” he said.
6. Pairing!
Furyk said the Americans will be looking to steal a page from the Euro playbook, bringing together potential partners as soon as next spring.
“I tried to suggest that this should be a whole year, 12 months, 52 weeks a year, the important thing is that we improve,” said Furyk. “But we need to start early in terms of getting players involved and buying in and we have to work on the two of us next spring. Getting an idea of who might make the team and how the team will be involved. Every year we come early, but not too early, if that makes sense to you.”
7. Leadership category
One of the main criticisms of the leadership of the American Ryder Cup over the last decade is that it has been lacking.
Today, there really isn’t a class of qualified American captains other than Furyk, who will return for a second captaincy, and Tiger Woods, who has captained the last two Ryder Cups and ultimately declined. Although the focus is on ’27, Furyk said he would like to see that change.
“I mean it’s very important for me and Team USA to identify potential captains and get them involved,” Furyk said. “That’s why I found Stewart [Cink] and Justin [Leonard] get involved early. I want them to be part of the process. I want them to learn every part of what we do and get more information, if that makes sense.
“Yes, I have kept notes on how we talked as captains, what we talked about with our analytics team, how we changed things, how we tried to improve,” he continued. “This is something we’ve been talking about in the house and it’s something that needs to happen.”
8. Better messages
The Americans were shot repeatedly by the Europeans at Bethpage for receiving payment for their participation in the Cup for the first time. (The Euros have followed up that discussion by doubling ticket prices at Adare Manor but still haven’t settled the issue of player pay on their side.)
Furyk noted that the U.S. side kept half of the Cup’s profits in Bethpage and should do a better job of communicating how the money is spent.
“I think where we really missed it and I really missed it as a group is that we never talked about more than $3.6 million donated to charity,” he said. “We’ve never shared stories. I think there are many players who don’t want to be the same, hey, look at me, look at what I’ve done.”
9. Continuity between American groups
The US Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup leaderboards are technically separate teams operated by different governing bodies (PGA of America for the Ryder Cup; PGA Tour for the Presidents Cup). One easy area for Furyk’s development to stand out is the continuity between the two sides, who have similar ambitions but have historically done things more differently than any other side of the book could hope for.
10. Tiger!
Woods was the captain of the 2027 team, and he is certainly the captain of the future. Furyk said he hopes Woods will have a meaningful role on the ’27 team and intends to talk to the 15-time major champion about that role in the near future.
