As soon as the final putt dropped on Sept. 27 in the 17-13 U.S. victory over the International team in the Presidents Cup, the buildup to the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland began.
No one is anticipating it more than U.S. captain Jim Furyk, who was one of Brandt Snedeker's vice-captains at Medinah.
"We've got some work to do, but I'm really excited," Furyk told the Times-Union about his second turn as the Ryder Cup captain, following a seven-point loss to Europein 2018 in Paris. "It's time to put the nose to the grindstone. I'm excited for the Presidents Cup team and how they came through [rallying from three points down entering singles]. I loved the atmosphere in the team room and the way they pulled together."
Furyk will tackle alternate-shot problem head-on
Furyk also addressed a key
issue without hesitation: the abysmal U.S. record in foursomes (alternate shot) in international match play. The Americans were 2-7 vs. the International team in that format at Medinah (0-5 on day two) and are 8-26 combined in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup since 2023.
At best, it's forced the Americans to rally in singles in Presidents Cups. At worst, the case can be made that it's cost them the last two Ryder Cups, at Bethpage and Rome, and been a key weakness in the U.S. going 3-9 in the Ryder Cup since 2002.
"There's no denying that alternate shot is an issue … something we need to work on," Furyk said. "We're going to get it done. We have some good ideas, but we have to put guys in good situations with good pairings that make sense for the golf course, the setup and personalities."
Furyk need look no further than the world's No. 1 player, Scottie Scheffler, who is 1-8 in foursomes as a Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup player, and 8-4-4 in all other formats.
"We need a different mindset of getting these guys ready, practicing the proper way," Furyk said. "There's too much skill and too much talent to have the record we have in alternate shot."
Players urged to practice more alternate shot
Furyk said one thing he will encourage players to do is compete in the format at their home courses. He pointed out that U.S. players Justin Thomas, Cameron Young and Justin Thomas, plus potential 2027 Ryder Cup players Ryan Gerard, Brooks Koepka, Akshay Bhatia, Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland all live in the Jupiter area.
"It's not hard to work at it [alternate shot] with so many guys coming from the same place," Furyk said.
Furyk said he liked the mix of veterans and first-year players at the Presidents Cup and was confident the competition for the six automatic picks based on the points system (which begins next season) and the six captain's selections will be fierce.
"We're going to have a great group of veterans and young guys, like Jackson Koivun, Jacob Bridgeman, Michael Brennan, Ben James, Ryan Gerard, Akshay Bhatia … young guys who will give us a spark.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: U.S. captain Jim Furyk begins 2027 Ryder Cup preparations
