Jim Furyk plans Tiger Woods discussions over Ryder Cup role
Jim Furyk plans Tiger Woods discussions over Ryder Cup role
Sam Frost Thu, May 14, 2026 at 10:27 AM UTC
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Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods pose with the Ryder Cup trophy
Jim Furyk believes Tiger Woods could have a lot to offer Team USA (Image: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Jim Furyk has confirmed he plans to discuss the 2027 Ryder Cup team with Tiger Woods, highlighting the qualities Woods could bring to the role.
Woods had been lined up to serve as Team USA's skipper for next year's contest at Adare Manor in Ireland, with the Americans desperate for revenge following consecutive defeats to Luke Donald's European side at Marco Simone and Bethpage Black.
However, Woods turned down the position after being charged with driving under the influence and refusing to submit to a chemical or physical test following a rollover car crash near his Florida home in March. The 15-time major champion, who denies the charges, suffered a further blow on Tuesday when prosecutors were granted access to his prescription drug records. It comes as Rory McIlroy shares blister update after cutting short round PGA Championship.
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The PGA of America responded by naming Furyk as captain. The 56-year-old will take charge of Team USA for a second time, having previously overseen a heavy defeat to Europe in France eight years ago.
Furyk believes Woods can still play a valuable role on his support staff, and he intends to make contact once the 50-year-old's personal and legal issues have been resolved.
Jim Furyk has opened the door to Tiger Woods (Image: undefined)
"We haven't spoken yet. I think, out of kind of courtesy and for him, his family, and I know maybe a road to health, I haven't reached out, but I will. Definitely. We'll see where that role may fall," Furyk said ahead of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club.
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"In the past, I think he's kind of taken a backseat and kind of maybe served as an advisor for Keegan and such. I will say I enjoyed serving - I use that word, serving - as a vice captain with him a number of times. I think he brought a lot to the team room, and a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience."
Furyk faced tough questioning from reporters regarding Team USA's trajectory following dispiriting losses in Rome and New York. He maintains that "continuity" is the cornerstone of any American resurgence against the well-organized European side, particularly in light of the misstep in appointing Keegan Bradley for Bethpage despite his lack of vice-captain experience"
Instead of saying something's not quite right, I think I would say we could definitely be doing a lot better job," he said. "Let's look at it right now. I'm pulled in in April to captain the team. We don't have a point system in place right now. I heard Luke earlier say he'll put something in place like late summer or mid to late summer or early fall.
"But I think the idea that Team USA is a professional sports organization, we go from the Presidents Cup to the Ryder Cup each and every year, and what I started noticing is we were maybe losing a little continuity from year to year.
"So I just think we could be better at this is a 12-month process each and every year. It's not something the Ryder Cup is over. We decompress. We let it go for six months. We brought Keegan in even later than this last year. He had less than 18 months to prepare. And that's a guy who never even served as vice captain. So he played a lot of catch-up, if that makes sense.
"The idea of more continuity, more continuity for future captains, more continuity for the players year in and year out, and that includes Presidents Cup in my mind as well. We've been carrying that knowledge along under some great captains, under the Davis Loves and the Freddie Couples and the Steve Strickers, and then myself kind of working with those guys. We've been kind of passing that information along, but I just really feel like it could be in a more organized manner.
"I think we could have put Keegan in a much better position last year, and part of my role as a vice captain was to kind of help him along with the experience that I had. But I think that "continuity" is probably the best word I could use."
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Source: “AOL Sports”
