U.S. Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk insists changes are coming for American 'underdogs' ahead of Adare Manor

Furyk returns to Europe as the U.S. captain after serving in 2018

Oct 6, 2026 at 12:22 pm ET • 3 min read

Change is required for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and captain Jim Furyk is insistent that it is coming next year to Adare Manor in Limerick, Ireland, for the biennial event against the Europeans. At the helm for the second time in his career, Furyk has a tall task laid out in front of him as he aims to lead the Americans to victory on European soil for the first time since 1993 at The Belfry, two years after the U.S. lost on home soil at Bethpage Black.

"We're not real happy with the last two results, so, yes, change will be made," Furyk said. "We're going to evolve. We're going to get better, noticeably, I guess, right off the bat, a new points system moving forward, a new analytics team moving forward. But a number of different changes coming and stuff that we're very excited about."

Although Furyk has not been a Ryder Cup captain since 2018, when the U.S. team lost 17.5 to 10.5 at Le Golf National near Paris, France, the 56-year-old has remained active within team leadership rooms. Furyk served as a captain in the 2024 Presidents Cup in winning fashion, as well as a vice captain in the 2025 Ryder Cup and the 2026 Presidents Cup last month at Medinah Country Club.

As he noted, Furyk already implemented a new points system for the qualification process with a focus on the 2027 season.

In the last two team events, the U.S. side has dominated Sunday singles, winning the session 9.5 to 2.5 against the International team in Chicago and 8.5 to 3.5 against the Europeans at Bethpage Black the year prior. This dominance in singles has raised questions about the Americans' ability to come together in team sessions, especially in foursomes, where they have struggled and often put themselves in a hole.

"There's some issues. We understand that. Not something I'm very happy with. I plan on making some changes," Furyk said. "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."

At the 2023 Ryder Cup near Rome, Italy, the U.S. lost the foursomes sessions 7 to 1. At Le Golf National in 2018, they lost a combined 6 to 2. At Gleneagles in 2014, they did not win a single foursomes match and instead relied on two halves for their 7 to 1 disadvantage in the format.

The U.S. has not only not won a Ryder Cup in Europe since 1993, but the red, white and blue has not come particularly close since, with only one tight contest materializing in 2010 in the form of a 14.5 to 13.5 defeat. It was in that same 2010 Ryder Cup that the U.S. last won a foursomes session in Europe.

Since then, the U.S. average margin of defeat in the three Ryder Cups in Europe has been just about six points.

"We know what we're up against," Furyk said. "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. You know, Luke [Donald] and Dodo [Molinari] have the opportunity to set the golf course up, trying to tip the scales to Europe. We're the underdogs. 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. 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. It's going to be difficult…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."