At the one year out Ryder Cup press conference, U.S. Captain Jim Furyk made sure to stake his claim to the all-important underdog card.
“I know it's always been played, we come in, the Americans seem to be the favorites. This year, there's no chance that that could happen. We're the underdogs. We understand that,” Furyk said.
What did European Captain Luke Donald think of this notion that the U.S. side, who typically have the higher-ranked team on paper based on the Official World Golf Ranking but have been on the losing side of two straight Cups and allowed the Euros to take seven of the last 10 editions of the biennial competition, would be labeling themselves as the underdog?
“For us, underdog is a mentality,” Donald said. “We always want to
prove something to ourselves, to the rest of the world. Yeah, we understand that being at home is an advantage but we also know that the U.S. are very strong.”
Ah, the psychological games have already begun between the two captains.
The U.S. got whipped in Italy four years ago and lost 15-13 at Bethpage Black in New York after a furious rally fell short. Furyk leaned into being the underdog in Ireland next September given the American side hasn’t won on foreign soil since 1993.
“It's us against the world at this point, or us against Europe. There's going to be 50,000 people making a lot of noise. It's such a great – the Ryder Cup is such a great atmosphere, such a great arena. But we know what we're up against. We also know that it's been 34 years since we won in Europe. There's no secret. I'm going to hear it over and over again, so I'm going to embrace it,” he said. “You know, Luke and Dodo (vice captain Edoardo Molinari) have the opportunity to set the golf course up, trying to tip the scales to Europe.”
He added: “We've got a lot of work ahead of us. And you know, I'm excited about that process. I'm a process guy and kind of ducks in a row and put these guys in a good position and let our guys go out and show their talent,” he said. “It's going to be difficult. The Irish fans, Irish sports are amazing but folks are going come in droves from all over Europe to support their favorite countrymen and I need 12 guys – I've been saying it all week – I need 12 guys that love that atmosphere and love walking into that type of arena because it takes a certain mentality, and those are the guys I'll be looking for.”
Furyk’s focus on how difficult the task at hand for the American side will be, and modesty was in sharp contrast to U.S. Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker, who in the moments after clinching the Presidents Cup over the International Team less than two weeks ago in Chicago, barked that the U.S. Ryder Cup team at Adare Manor would be “a problem.” Donald, who is in his third tour of duty as European Team captain, is too seasoned in the role to take the bait when asked about Snedeker’s comment.
“I have zero complacency about how strong the U.S. are going to be. They always are,” he said. “Obviously we have a great record at home but again, zero complacency. You know, I've seen what Jim has been doing behind the scenes, changing the stats, changing the qualification system. He is very, very motivated to come here and put up a good fight. Certainly I'm just as motivated to sort of keep finding those edges for my team as well. But you know, I know that the U.S. will be very strong.”
But a very strong team with the underdog chip on its shoulder.
The Ryder Cup will be held at Adare Manor in Ireland beginning Sept. 17, 2027.
Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Jim Furyk calls his U.S. team underdogs for 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor
