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Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup committee gets it right by selecting Jim Furyk as captain

Steve DiMeglio
USA TODAY Sports

As fog slowly lifted from Celtic Manor in Wales on the final day of the 2010 Ryder Cup, Jim Furyk stood on the first tee straining to see down the fairway before hitting the tee shot in his match against Luke Donald.

In a file photo from Aug. 7, 2016,  Jim Furyk reacts after shooting a PGA tour record 58 after the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship.

“Jim, just follow your nose,” a fan yelled.

Furyk bent over laughing and turned in the direction of the sound and said, “That was funny,” as the crowd broke out in thunderous laughter.

It was but one of many examples as to why Furyk, despite his 10-20-4 record in the biennial slugfest between the U.S. and Europe, calls the Ryder Cup his favorite event. Now, after playing in nine competitions, surpassed only by Phil Mickelson among Americans, Furyk will lead Uncle Sam in September 2018 when the 42nd edition will be played at Le Golf National in Paris.

A committee including Tiger Woods, Mickelson and Davis Love III, who led the U.S. to a 17-11 victory at Hazeltine last October for its first win since 2008, got it right when selecting Furyk.

His experience is unquestioned; in addition to his vast record as a player, he was an assistant to Love last year and to Jay Haas in the 2015 Presidents Cup when the U.S. won in South Korea.

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He is respected by his peers, from those in their 40s (Woods, Mickelson and Zach Johnson), 30s (Bubba Watson, Brandt Snedeker and Jimmy Walker) and 20s (Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler to name but three).

He’s a passionate, fierce competitor who offers no excuses and blames no one but himself when matters go wrong. And he is approachable and cooperative, a man who gives thoughtful, thorough answers to questions. It’s no surprise that in 2015 he received the ASAP Sports/Jim Murray Award from the Golf Writers Association of America for his cooperation with the media, and in 2016 was the recipient of the Payne Stewart Award given to a professional golfer who exemplifies Stewart’s values of character, charity and sportsmanship.

“Congratulations to our new Captain,” Johnson tweeted after Furyk was named to his post on Wednesday. “Was always a “player captain” for @RyderCupUSA, now he's our leader. #beatEurope”

Furyk could be a player-captain again in 2018. The man with the funny swing, who has won 17 PGA Tour titles including the 2003 U.S. Open, still has plenty of game at 46. While he hasn’t won since the 2015 RBC Heritage, he finished runner-up in last year’s U.S. Open, and in the Travelers Championship in August became the only player in PGA Tour history to shoot 58. He’s ranked No. 37 in the world.

But Furyk said his focus will not be on becoming the first player/captain since Arnold Palmer pulled the double in 1963.

“My main goal is to being the best possible captain I can be,” he said Wednesday at PGA of America headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

An answer that speaks to who Furyk is. And who the U.S. needs.

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