Written by Staff, PGATOUR.COM
DUBLIN, Ohio – A Presidents Cup captain wears many different hats. They are a hotel booker, gift bag planner and the head decision-maker for determining the 12 golfers that will make up their roster.
With the 2024 Presidents Cup less than four months away, U.S. Team captain Jim Furyk is on-site at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, catching up with players, picking their brains and taking stock of prospective captains’ picks form. On Tuesday, Furyk sat down with PGATOUR.COM for a Q&A about everything Presidents Cup. Among the topics discussed, Furyk revealed the lessons he learned from captaining the 2018 Ryder Cup, course setup expectations for Royal Montreal and why he picked his assistant captains.
PGATOUR.COM: Less than four months from the first tee shots at Royal Montreal Golf Club, what are you working on right now?
Furyk: We've been working on food recently, which is a big key for these guys. It's interesting being on TOUR now and coming back and poking into the dining area and seeing foods labeled for pre-round, for recovery. It's just the nutrition side of things as it's evolved on the PGA TOUR; it's fun to see. It's different than when I played the PGA TOUR full-time. So we're really focused right now on meals and getting the right foods for these guys before and after the rounds. As far as the team is concerned, I’m always monitoring scores. I've been playing a bit myself, so I'm not watching as much golf on TV, but I am keeping an eye on the players that are in contention, the leaderboards and how everyone's playing. It's really good for me to be out this week for Memorial. I'll be at the course all day Tuesday and Wednesday just to be out, see the guys and let 'em know I'm paying attention. I’m getting them excited about trying to make this team and for those already way out in points, get them excited for September and ready to go to Montreal.
PGATOUR.COM: How much have you seen of Royal Montreal, and do you have any early inclinations on how it will play?
Fuyrk: I played there in 2007 and again in 2014 for the RBC Canadian Open. I’ll go up again this summer and start to see how it will be set up. It was set up totally differently in 2007 than in 2014. The first time, it was set up to let it fly. In ‘14, it was tight with some heavy rough. That’s what I expect we will see. That’s what the Europeans like to do to us in the Ryder Cup. We’ve had success with it, too, but ultimately, that’s the way I expect Mike (Weir) will go for the Presidents Cup.
PGATOUR.COM: Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele have a pretty big lead in the points race, but the standings really bunch from there. At this point, how many guys are on your radar?
Furyk: I’d say about 20-25, but as far as you want, really. A guy could come out, win the British (Open) or another event and all of a sudden, they're right there. So yeah, I just keep an eye. I am looking for consistency and guys who are playing well. I’m really just being present.
We've got some guys that have a lot of experience and have played in many Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup events, and then we've got a bunch of guys in there that this would be their first one if they made the team and that's good.
PGATOUR.COM: Presidents Cup stalwarts Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas have had up-and-down seasons and aren’t currently projected in the top 12 in points. How do you value experience over form, and how will that play a role in captains' picks?
Furyk: We're far enough out right now, and there are still a lot of big events and points to be earned. So I'm not really necessarily looking at, well, ‘Do I have an experienced team now? Is it a new team?' I mean, it will all play itself out, and I think when you're making those picks, there are many ways to look at it. I mean, you're looking at present form, you're looking at the golf course, horses for courses, and what does the golf course entail? How's the setup going to play into that? You're looking at pairings. Maybe I've got a guy or two that I'm not exactly sure how I will pair them, but there may be a captain's pick out there that fits perfectly for that person, and then you're looking at experience as a factor.
Scottie Scheffler played pretty darn well in the Ryder Cup his first year. Having some of that exuberance and excitement and a guy who may be playing well right now is also key. So you weigh it all together and try to make the best decisions with the information you have. We have assistant captains who help make those decisions. The whole idea is to get the best group of 12 as a team.
PGATOUR.COM: Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard and Kevin Kisner were announced as assistant captains this week. Cink has done it before, but what intrigued you about Leonard and Kisner, who will make their assistant captain debuts?
Furyk: Kiz definitely has that sarcastic, funny side. He keeps the team loose. When I was involved in teams that he was on, he kept everyone laughing. You'll have a good time if he's in the room. A lot of people see that. They see the fun and sarcasm and don't realize how bright the guy is either. I admire him. He brings a lot from the strategy side of things. Not only is he playing on the PGA TOUR right now, but he is also doing media and watching a lot of guys. He knows their games really well. That helps me. Also, getting on the team bus, getting in the team room, and having a guy who keeps everyone loose on a big week when everyone can get uptight is valuable.
Justin has played on many Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teams but hasn’t done it because he was working for NBC and they always had the telecast. I would have loved to have him on my staff in 2018. He’s a dear friend, extremely organized, extremely meticulous. He’s going to keep me down the fairway and organized.
And Stew, in my mind, was always going to be one of the assistants. I don’t get to pick the next Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup captain, but I think Stewart Cink would make a heck of a captain.
PGATOUR.COM: What did you learn from captaining the 2018 Ryder Cup team?
Furyk: I was asked if I would do anything differently after that loss. It was one of the funniest questions I got because how arrogant would you have to be to have a team that didn’t win and then go, ‘Nope, I’d do everything the exact same.” I beat myself up for a while over 2018, and I thought about what things I would do differently. So yeah, I’m going to carry those lessons in.
I think it's important to be very clear and identify roles for the assistant captains early, knowing they're my eyes and ears out there. They see how the guys are playing and are my eyes and ears out there about what needs to be done.
It’s become more of a CEO-type (job), reaching out to folks who coach teams and those that run businesses. There are different team-building strategies and ways to put them together.
PGATOUR.COM: Do you sense any extra motivation from the golfers who played at the Ryder Cup last fall?
Furyk: No, well it would be my goal not to have that. That ship sailed. It’s gone. We’ll learn our lessons from it, improve on it, and get stronger and better. We're not bringing any baggage from last year. I think the U.S. Team, as far as the Presidents Cup, the goal is to keep rolling, to keep building the on momentum that we've gained. As an assistant, you learn a lot, and it's my job to pass that down to the next and try to keep the U.S. Team rolling. We're going to have some wins, we're going to have some losses as part of it, but keep trying to make the whole stronger.
PGATOUR.COM: For you, every year may be its own thing, but from the International Team’s perspective, they feel like every Presidents Cup is interconnected and that they are building momentum and an identity that is translating to more competitive play. Do you feel that?
Furyk: Yeah, I think they've done a good job. The hard part they've had in the past is that everyone is in their own bucket. There’s the Australians and the South Africans. There is an Asian contingent, and then you had Vijay Singh coming from Fiji and Mike (Weir) coming from Canada. You had these people from all over the world that played the TOUR together, and they were friendly, but then you wrap them up and say, ‘you're a team.’ For us, we're representing our country and our flag. Whether it was Nick Price or Ernie Els as the captains, they started bringing this team together, and that's when they caught some momentum and started to play better. They have something to play for now, if that makes sense. And so yeah, it presents a challenge for us as a team. And I know Mike (Weir) will do a good job. He's been involved with these teams a bunch. We've been good friends for a long time and he'll do a good job and that team's going to come out firing,
They're looking to change the past. I think for us, we want to keep moving forward with the U.S. Team and keep it going, but what's happened in the past is gone for us. It's about creating another memory and playing well this year.
