Jim Furyk, to the surprise of almost no one in the golf world, was tapped Wednesday to become the captain of the 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Jim Furyk named 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup captain
Team USA has its new captain for a Ryder Cup defense in Paris.
A vice captain under Davis Love III at Hazeltine in the fall when Team USA prevailed over Europe, 17-11, for its first win since 2008, Furyk was the odds-on favorite to head up the Americans’ attempt to go back-to-back when Le Golf National in Paris hosts the event next fall. The PGA of America made official on Wednesday afternoon what the Telegraph earlier reported, that Furyk would prevail in his quest for the captaincy over Fred Couples.
“If they decide in ‘18, ‘20, ‘22, whenever it is, if they decide that I’m the right person, I would love to have that job,” Furyk told the Associated Press in November. “I think everyone would.”
The committee that grew out of the task force that 2014’s 16.5-11.5 beatdown by the Euros at Gleneagles begat chose Furyk, who will be 48 years old when the Ryder Cup moves to France. Love and likely future captains Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are key members of that committee.
“This one’s right out of the [task force] playbook,” Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte observed on Tuesday.
Furyk played on Ryder Cup teams from 1997-2014, going 10-20-4 in those nine consecutive stints. After tying for second at the U.S. Open in June and scoring a record 58 at the Travelers Championship in August, he nearly played his way onto last year’s squad but faltered down the stretch of the season. Furyk will face Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, who chosen last month by the Europeans to help get his squad back into the winner’s circle.
