U.S. Ryder Cup vice-captain Jim Furyk denies reports, rumors of dissension within the team
An unfortunate narrative that often comes out after the U.S. loses a Ryder Cup is that there was either a lack of overall team comradery or outright dissension.
Jim Furyk, the host of this week’s PGA Tour Champions Constellation Furyk & Friends at the Timuquana Country Club, heard it as a Ryder Cup player and captain and he’s hearing it again after serving as one of Zach Johnson’s vice-captains in Rome last week when the U.S. lost to Europe 16.5-11.5.
He said reports of disunity are “absolutely not the case.”
A match long overdue: PGA Tour Champions gets its match-play event with World Champions Cup
“I was in that team room each and every night,” Furyk said on Tuesday during a news conference to promote the World Champions Cup, a match-play event for PGA Tour Champions players in December. “Those 12 guys really bonded, really got along. I know we’re disappointed that we didn’t bring the cup back to the United States but I can say and I'll stand by it, those 12 guys really got along well and supported each other. As captains, we couldn't have asked for anything more.”
Furyk also said reports that Patrick Cantlay ostracized himself from the team and didn’t wear a USA hat during competition as a protest over not getting paid to play in the Ryder Cup were false.
The rumors were so viral that European fans on-site took their hats off and doffed them sarcastically whenever Cantlay passed their way.
Furyk said that resulted in a show of U.S. bonding when the entire team and caddies took off their hats and waved them at the fans after Cantlay birdied his last three holes on Saturday to win a fourball match with Wyndham Clark against Rory McIlroy and Matthew Fitzpatrick.
“I’m not sure where [rumors of team disharmony] came from, especially after you saw the support Patrick had with the guys raising their hats in front of the green,” he said. “He took a lot of beating that day from, whether it was from the media, from the fans about not wearing a hat, the speculation that maybe he didn't want to wear the American flag, whatever it may be. I think you saw the support from the players.”
Furyk said Cantlay’s decision not to wear a hat came down to being unable to find one that fit.
“Pat, he's got a big noggin,” Furyk said. “We have a hard time getting him in a hat. He hasn't worn one for three or four years in the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup. If he's going to birdie 16, 17 and 18, he can wear whatever he wants, I'll say that.”
Seve stories
Everyone, it seems has a Seve Ballesteros story.
With PGA Tour Champions players representing the U.S., Europe and South Africa at the World Champions Cup news conference, and two days after the Ryder Cup, the subject of the brilliant Spaniard and World Golf Hall of Fame member who died in 2011 at the age of 54 came up.
Ernie Els had two of the best yarns.
Els said he was first paired with Ballesteros in the final round of the 1994 German Masters. Els, 25 at the time, blew a big lead and fell into a playoff with Ballesteros (who shot 67) and Jose Maria Olazabal. Ballesteros won but Els said it was so late in his career that he was thrilled to have a front-row seat to what might be his final victory.
“I was more excited for Seve winning again … he had been struggling,” Els said.
As it turned out, Ballesteros won his 50th and last European Tour title seven months later at the Spanish Open.
One week after the German Masters Els found himself playing against Ballesteros in a 36-hole semifinal of the World Match Play at Wentworth. Els was playing in the event for the first time, against possibly the best of all time in match play.
It was a riveting day, Els said. To illustrate, he birdied seven of the eight par-3 holes – and only won two of them as Ballesteros matched five times with birdies.
Els finally won on the 35th hole when he got up and down and would go on to win the event the next day by outlasting another match-play master, Colin Montgomerie, 4 and 2 in the finals.
Following his match against Ballesteros, Els returned to the locker room to find his father Neels waiting for him, in tears.
My dad was as big a fan of Seve as me,” Els said. “He had tears in his eyes and my dad’s not a cryer.”
Turns out Ballesteros had gone out of his way to praise young Ernie to Neels Els.
“He said some really nice stuff to my dad,” Els said. “That was the type of guy [Ballesteros] was. He would play you to death, but he’ll show respect. Just loved the guy.”
Furyk field fills out
Gibby Gilbert III fired a bogey-free 65 to win a Monday qualifier for the Furyk & Friends at the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley. Also in the field are Clark Dennis (66) and Mark Walker (68). Walker beat Guy Boros in sudden death after making a birdie at the last to get into the playoff.
Two other players were added on Tuesday, Carlos Franco as a sponsor invitational and Dicky Pride as a replacement for Michael Allen, who withdrew.
All-Star clinic set
The Tesori Family Foundation All-Star Kids Clinic will be Oct. 9 at 4 p.m., at the TPC Sawgrass practice range. The clinics for special-needs children are sponsored by St. Augustine High and University of Florida graduate Paul Tesori and his wife Michelle.
PGA TOUR
Event: Sanderson Farms Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Country Club of Jackson (Miss.).
At stake: $8.2 million purse ($1,476,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: Mackenzie Hughes.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m.).
Area players entered: Tyson Alexander, Jonas Blixt, Jonathan Byrd, Lanto Griffin, Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox, Keith Mitchell, Trey Mullinax, Doc Redman, Sam Ryder, Greyson Sigg, Davis Thompson.
Notable: Hughes birdied the second playoff hole to beat Sepp Straka. … Leading the field are Emiliano Grillo, Kevin Kisner, Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker and European Ryder Cup player Ludvig Aberg. … Grillo is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 35 in the world.
LPGA TOUR
Event: Ascendent LPGA, Thursday-Sunday, Old American Golf Club, The Colony, Texas.
At stake: $1.8 million purse ($270,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Charley Hull.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday, 12-2 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, 7:30-9:30 p.m.).
Area players entered: Amelia Lewis, Mel Reid.
Notable: Hull shot 64 in the final round to beat Xiyu Lin by one shot and Lydia Ko by two.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Event: Constellation Furyk & Friends, Friday-Sunday, Timquana Country Club.
At stake: $2.1 million purse ($315,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Steve Stricker.
TV: Golf Channel (Friday-Saturday, 2-4 p.m.; Sunday, 9:30-11:30 p.m.); Peacock (Sunday, 3-5 p.m.).
Area players entered: David Duval, Fred Funk, Jim Furyk, Frank Lickliter II, Davis Love III, Len Mattiace, Vijay Singh.
Notable: Stricker shot a bogey-free 69 in the final round and beat Harrison Frazar by two shots. … World Golf Hall of Famers in the field are Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Love and Singh. … Langer is tied with Hale Irwin for the career victories record on the Champions Tour with 46. In two appearances at Timuquana, Langer has tied for fourth and tied for seventh, with a scoring average of 69.0. … Stricker has won six times with three majors this season and has failed to finish outside the top-10 in 15 starts.
KORN FERRY TOUR
Event: Korn Ferry Tour Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Victoria National Golf Club, Newburgh, Ind.
At stake: $1.5 million purse ($270,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Justin Suh.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday, 2-4 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 12-2 p.m.; Sunday, 2-4 p.m.).
Area players entered: None.
Notable: Suh shot 64-68 on the weekend and beat Austin Eckroat by two shots. … The top 30 players from the field of 73 will earn their PGA Tour cards for the 2024 season.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jim Furyk said U.S. Ryder Cup team 'bonded ... really got along well'
