Jim Furyk’s fighting talk shows USA path to Ryder Cup redemption in Ireland

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This time it will be different, Jim Furyk maintains, both in his second outing as USA captain at a Ryder Cup and off the back of consecutive defeats at the hands of his European counterpart Luke Donald.

Misery at Marco Simone and bedlam at Bethpage Black has left the Americans spinning and embracing, according to Furyk, a newfound status.

“We’re the underdogs,” Furyk unmistakably uttered, despite possessing Scottie Scheffler, the best player of a generation, yet one that continues to struggle when representing the stars and stripes. “I know it’s always been played, we come in, the Americans seem to be the favourites.

“This year, there’s no chance that that could happen. We’re the underdogs. We understand that. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. And you know, I’m excited about that process. I’m a process guy, getting our ducks in a row, putting these guys in a good position and letting our guys go out and show their talent.

“It’s going to be difficult. The fans here – Irish fans, Irish sports are amazing but folks are going come in droves from all over Europe to support their favourite countrymen. 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. Those are the guys I’ll be looking for.”

It was at Le Golf National in 2018 when Furyk’s dream first fizzled out. After Phil Mickelson’s tee shot plunged into the water, pandemonium overcame the 16th tee box with Francesco Molinari, the first man to win a major and all five matches at a Ryder Cup, drowned in flat beer. Amid European euphoria, perhaps Furyk’s character shone through the American despair.

He broke into a stride to catch counterpart Thomas Bjorn, en route to soak in the celebrations, clenching his hand in respect after three engrossing days of golf.

So it will be 34 years since the last American win on European soil when the first ball is struck in anger at Adare Manor on 17 September next year.

The resounding success of Donald’s ability to harness team chemistry, bonding a group of men from nine different countries and six different languages, has been undoubtedly impressive, hence a third term as skipper, yet the USA continue to flounder on one of golf’s biggest stages, grossly underperforming when considering the exorbitant talent at their disposal.

The key, perhaps, is team golf’s most iconic format: Foursomes. Both Furyk, specifically, and the USA remain baffled by alternate shot golf, with the International team routing the USA 5-0 in last month’s Presidents Cup to move to the brink of a stunning victory, only for a rousing comeback in singles to negate an embarrassing home American defeat.

It has also been the foundation of European success: Donald’s tenure has seen Europe win 13 of 16 foursomes matches across Rome (7-1) and New York (6-2). Furyk’s own tenure as captain in the 2018 Ryder Cup and 2024 Presidents Cup has seen 0-4 and 0-5 sessions. There is simply no mystery to the USA’s painful defeats in this storied competition.

“I know those numbers very, very well. I’ve lived them the last four,” a candid Furyk remarked. “What’s interesting is it’s a recent thing for us in the United States. When I started playing the Ryder Cup, we felt and in mathematical terms we actuallt had an advantage in the foursomes. At that time we were really struggling in the four-ball.

“So there’s an ebb and a flow. But it’s not an anomaly. There’s some issues. We understand that. Not something I’m very happy with. I plan on making some changes. I would say, one, as captains, we need to do a better job, not only put the folks into good pairings in good positions but I don’t think we are preparing for those matches in a proper way.

“And 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. 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.”

USA detractors might query just why their players need to be asked to fully commit to team golf and a collective goal. Yet it was certainly fighting talk from Furyk in Limerick and almost a year away from the latest instalment, the captains will begin tinkering with their methods in pursuit of glory.

“It’s obviously no secret that we’ve done very well in the foursomes,” Donald countered. “It’s been a big part of the success of the last two Ryder Cups and hopefully that continues. But I would be naive to think that we would be able to have the same success, keeping going forward. I think any time you have that success, it’s great.

“But every time you don’t have that success, you’re learning, as well. You can tell from the way Jim is talking and what preparations they are doing, they are very focused, and we know we’ll have our work cut out.

“But I’m also focused on that I don’t particularly want to feel like I did on Sunday at Bethpage. You know, it was tough to experience the US coming back so strong. It just shows how much grit, resilience this team will have.

“And it’s certainly something I’m thinking about, how do we get these guys not only prepared as best for foursomes but all sessions, and that includes the singles. There’s 12 points in the singles. There’s a lot of points. So you’d better have some focus on that, as well.”