Jim Furyk is back as Ryder Cup captain, in a move that has left the golfing world perplexed.
Last year’s home defeat to Team Europe left Team USA at a fork in the road. Their next pick as captain was vitally important to show that they had turned the page and were resetting their culture to keep up with the European powerhouse from across the pond.
Instead, they turned back to their past failings, re-appointing 2018 captain Jim Furyk, who led them to a 17.5-10.5 loss in Paris eight years ago. Many saw it as an uninspired pick from an organization with nowhere else to turn.
Dan Rapaport was just as confused as the rest of us and said what he just does not understand about the appointment.
Furyk, shockingly, was among the best options to be selected as captain, but that’s more a reflection of how badly the PGA of America has mismanaged the Ryder Cup since their dominant win in 2021.
But speaking on Dan on Golf, Rapaport still shared his exasperation at this choice. He said, “I want to start this off with, Jim Furyk is a lovely guy. He has never been anything but kind to me. This is not a shot at Jim Furyk. But I can not believe he is the captain again.
“Furyk has been in the room for a number of US teams at Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups, but he has only led one in the Ryder Cup, and it was an embarrassing loss. You can tell it was embarrassing as the PGA of America totally brushed it over in their statement.
“At Le Golf National in France, they got rocked. 17 1/2 to 10 and a 1/2. And his captain’s picks were historically bad. You remember 2018 at Le Golf National: you had fairways tighter than a Spirit Airlines middle seat, rough like ice plant, water everywhere.
“He picked four guys that couldn’t hit a fairway on maybe the most penal setup we have ever seen. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Tony Finau. The most important thing you can say that a captain does is choose the guys who are going to be on this team; they went a combined 2 and 10.
“So two things can be true at once. I have said time and time again that captains don’t win or lose the Ryder Cup, players do. But you can still pick a captain that brings new energy and hasn’t been [hammered] at the Ryder Cup before.
“Like a Stewart Cink, or Justin Leonard, or Fred Couples, or even Brandt Snedeker, who is captaining the Presidents Cup team. Maybe a bit of continuity wouldn’t be the worst thing ever.
“The US could still win, and the captain doesn’t hit a single shot. But I can’t for the life of me understand this, unless nobody wanted the job. You can be the best captain in the world and still lose, but that’s the best we can do?”
Ultimately, Furyk was named captain, not because no one else wanted the job. It was surely because the most obvious choices turned out to be completely unsuitable for the role.
This was really supposed to be Tiger Woods’ year. He revealed that he was asked to take on the role and was weighing his options, but then the 15-time major winner got into another car accident controversy and was ruled out of the captaincy.
Phil Mickelson would be the other obvious choice, but he’s polarized the golfing world so much after his move to LIV Golf that he’s not a realistic candidate at this stage.
So, whether it was Justin Leonard or Stewart Cink, whoever the PGA of America picked for 2027 was going to be uninspiring. So better to go with uninspiring but experienced.