July 1, 2026, 1:00 p.m. ET
Jim Furyk will captain the U.S. Ryder Cup team for a second time in 2027 at Adare Manor in Ireland.Former captain Zach Johnson expressed confidence in Furyk’s leadership and decision-making.The U.S. team has hired data expert Justin Ray to assist with analytics.
SILVIS, Ill. — The 2027 Ryder Cup is still more than a year away, but the preparation has already begun.
European captain Luke Donald and U.S. captain Jim Furyk were on property last week at Adare Manor in Limerick, Ireland, getting their first look at the host venue that will welcome thousands of raucous fans for the biennial grudge match next September.
This is Furyk’s second stint as frontman for Team USA, his first being in 2018 when the Europeans dominated at Le Golf National in France, winning 17½ to 10½. But a lot can change in nine years. If you need proof, just look at the U.S. roster that year — Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson all suited up for the stars and stripes. Furyk will lead what will mostly be an entirely new stable of players compared to the group he captained in 2018, and he’ll hope for an entirely different result, too.
Coming off two straight Ryder Cup losses, it’s no secret that a different strategy needs to be deployed for the Americans, and Furyk already raised some eyebrows when it was announced that longtime golf data guru Justin Ray was brought on board to help in the analytics department — a promising start for a team that seemed in desperate need of a shake-up. Whether or not that leads to more points on the board for the U.S. remains to be seen, but another man who has experience in the field of captaining a Ryder Cup team on the losing side has total confidence in Furyk.
Zach Johnson said he hasn’t been consulted by Furyk or either of his two vice captains — Justin Leonard and Stewart Cink — but he fully expects them to make the right moves. Johnson was one of Furyk’s vice captains in 2018, and vice versa in 2023.
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“I’ve communicated with Jim briefly on some things, but I’m sure we’ll probably talk maybe as time goes forward maybe a little bit more. That’s up to him,” Johnson said during his pre-tournament press conference ahead of this week’s John Deere Classic. “We’re good friends …. I’m grateful that he wanted to take the reins again. I was not a part of that process. I don’t know what took place in that regard. I have been a part of that, obviously, in years prior, but you’re talking about one of the most respected individuals in our game, certainly in my tenure, in my time, and I would say one of the most fierce competitors in my time.
“Then you couple that with a guy that certainly loves his country, but loves that format, loves that tournament. I think whatever change that you were alluding to may or may not be happening, I’m sure they’re doing it for the greater good of the team.”
Johnson’s hopes of leading the U.S. to its first win on foreign soil since 1993 were dashed out of the gate when the Europeans won the opening session of the 2023 Ryder Cup 4-0. The Americans battled back to make the final tally respectable (16½ to 11½), but they were essentially dead on arrival. The same thing happened again in 2025 with Keegan Bradley at the helm, as Team Europe jumped out to a three-point lead after the first day en route to a 15-13 victory.
“You’re always going to diagnose, dice it up, as to how to get better,” Johnson said. “Obviously, the European teams have the best of us as of late, so you don’t want to be fully reactionary, but you also don’t want to be naive to think that you can’t get better. Whatever that looks like, I’m sure the individuals — I mean, those are three of my dear friends right there: Jim, Justin, and Stewart. Utmost respect, and I know that the posture they’ll present will be one of selflessness.
“They’re going to do it for the betterment of the team and whatever that looks like. Stats, analytics, however they formulate things, they’re going to do it for the betterment of the USA team.”
Nick Stavas is a digital producer and commerce writer for Golfweek. Follow him on X/Twitter (@nickstavas).