BETWEEN the shaved bonce of Jim Furyk, the newly appointed captain of the US team for the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris, and the equally polished pate of his European counterpart, Thomas Bjorn, there will probably be more hair on the actual trophy itself when hostilities resume in the biennial battle for this cherished gold chalice.
Furyk’s appointment last night was hardly a surprise. The nine-time Ryder Cup player, and a vice-captain at Hazeltine last year, appeared to have only Fred Couples as a genuine rival in the running to take over the reins from Davis Love III.
The move ties in with the USA’s new found determination to stick with a line of succession when it comes to new skippers. Furyk served his time in the backroom team last October as the hosts finally found a winning formula and won the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2008.
The 46-year-old, a former US Open champion, remains a sturdy competitor on the PGA Tour. He was runner-up in last season’s US Open and shot the lowest ever score on the PGA circuit, a 58, during the Travelers Championship. Turning to Furyk as captain now, while he is still relevant and competitive, demonstrates an eagerness from the US Task Force to keep the skipper highly visible among the rest of the players during the qualifying process. Given his longevity, it’s not far-fetched to ponder the possibility of Furyk flirting with team qualification himself.
Last night, though, he was revelling in the honour of being named captain for an event that has been a major part of his career. And he wasted no time in naming Love as one of his assistants.
“This is such an honour,” he said. “I’m actually a little overwhelmed. It’s no secret, it’s been my favourite event my entire career. I remember sitting in the room and knowing in my heart Davis was the best person to lead this team in 2016. Davis is going to be a very tough act to follow. He put a system in place and got the players behind it. It won’t make my task easy but it is comforting knowing there is a system in place."
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