By Frank Pingue
Oct 6 (Reuters) – U.S. Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk conceded on Tuesday that his team’s dismal foursomes record was “not an anomaly” and promised changes ahead of next year’s competition at Adare Manor where they will try to deny Europe a third consecutive victory.
The U.S. have won only three of 16 foursomes matches across the last two editions of the biennial Ryder Cup and also struggled in the same format at the last two Presidents Cups where they went 5-13-0 against a lineup of international players from outside Europe.
“There’s some issues. We understand that. Not something I’m very happy with,” Furyk, speaking alongside Team Europe captain Luke Donald, said during a press conference at Adare Manor in Limerick, Ireland. “I plan on making some changes.”
Furyk, who was named captain of the US team in April after Tiger Woods declined the role following his arrest on a driving-under-the-influence charge, has already implemented a revamped qualification system for the 2027 matches and counts a new analytics team among the changes he hopes will lead to success in foursomes.
Still, his squad will face a tall order at Adare Manor given the US have not won a Ryder Cup on European soil since 1993 at The Belfry in Warwickshire.
“I will promise you, we will be prepared. I’m going to ask this team to do more than any other United States team has in the past,” said Furyk. “We’ll be prepared. We’ll be ready to go in that format, and hopefully we can showcase our talent. We have too much depth to have that poor record in alternate shot.”
US Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker fired an early battle cry after his players delivered the most lopsided singles session in that event’s history, boasting after the 17-13 triumph that the American team is “going to be a problem” for Europe at the next Ryder Cup.
Donald, who next year will aim to become the first captain to guide a team to three straight Ryder Cup victories, was not about to disagree.
“I have zero complacency about how strong the US are going to be. They always are. On paper, they tend to be stronger than us through the world rankings,” said Donald.
“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.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in TorontoEditing by Toby Davis)
