DORAL — One day, Keegan Bradley would love to get another chance to avenge something that is “part of my soul that’s torn out.”
But the Palm Beach Gardens resident knows this was not the time for him to be handed a second chance as the U.S. Ryder Cup captain. Not after the bizarre week he spent at Bethpage Black in New York last September, watching his team play embarrassingly bad early — nowhere near as embarrassing as the way U.S. fans acted — and then rally furiously but falling short against the Europeans.
Bradley acknowledges having an outside-the-box captain who was in the mix to make the team did not work. He is right.
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So when Tiger Woods pulled himself out of the running for the U.S. Captain in 2027 at Adare Manor in Ireland, following his March 27 accident and arrest on DUI charges, the PGA of America pivoted to a pick a captain some might deem a risk and others safe.
Jim Furyk a safe pick as Ryder Cup captain? Perhaps
Jim Furyk is a former Ryder Cup captain, but one whose team was crushed 17.5-10.5 in 2018 in Paris. Furyk, 55, has immeasurable Ryder Cup experience, playing nine times, serving as a vice-captain in four and his one stint as captain.
He has worn the red, white and blue at every Ryder Cup for 30 years, starting in 1997, including serving as one of five vice captains for Bradley.
And Furyk was the winning U.S. Captain for the 2024 Presidents Cup of which Bradley was a member.
“He brings a lot of experience. He’s learned a lot over the years. He’s been a captain, somebody that we all really look up to,” Bradley said April 29 following his pro-am the day before the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral. Bradley is paired with Shane Lowry, one of his Ryder Cup nemesis, for the first round of the tournament.
Bradley, 39, said Furyk captains a lot like he played: “steady.” Furyk won 17 times on the PGA Tour, including the 2003 U.S. Open. He was in the top 10 of the world ranking for more than 440 weeks.
“He’s not gonna get up and give you speeches getting the guys fired up and all that. Jim, he’s himself. And I think that I really liked that.”
Bradley’s vision of Furyk is a captain who will not panic. That was a valuable trait when his team squandered a 5-0 lead to the International team at the Presidents Cup in Montreal, winning all five fourball matches the morning of the first round before losing five foursomes matches the next morning.
The U.S. recovered for an 18.5-11.5 victory.
“When we lost that day 0-5, it was pretty shocking,” Bradley said. “And he was just the same captain he was the day before. I think that’s what makes Jim great is there’s no ups and downs.”
The pick was a nod to the more traditional route of a former Ryder Cup player with experience as a captain or vice-captain. And one who does not have a chance of rising to the level of putting himself in the discussion to make the team.
“I think having somebody close to making the team isn’t really what the position is about,” Bradley said. “I don’t know if they totally expected me to be where I sat. I had a pretty high ranking in the world, and I don’t know if they wanted to go through that again.”
While Bradley was not perfect, in the end, if world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay had won two more matches — or halved three — and not combined to go 3-10-2, the U.S. would have won outright. Then, Bradley’s captaincy would have been viewed a success.
Instead, Europe now is seeking its third consecutive win in 2027.
Europe emerged in 2025 despite winning just one match on the final day. Five were halved.
Bradley says he would ‘kill’ to play for Tiger Woods in Ryder Cup
Among the names thought to be Furyk’s main competition were Justin Leonard, Stewart Cink and Steve Stricker. All part of Furyk’s era.
“With Jim, you just have so much experience across so many team events whether it’s playing or being a captain,” Scheffler said. “The guy’s been on those teams for what seems like forever.
“I think he brings a lot of knowledge and experience to the table. He has a way that he likes to do things and he’s very experienced in that role and I think he’s going to do a great job.”
Still, Furyk forever will be remembered as the replacement for what was destined to be Woods’ debut as Ryder Cup captain.
With Woods’ personal and legal issues still very much his priority, that day may or may not come.
But if it does, Bradley knows how he’ll react.
“I think certainly when he’s ready, he’s going to do it,” Bradley said. “I would just kill to play for Tiger and him be my captain. I don’t know if I’ll ever get that chance, but I know for me, that would be so fun. Cool.
“And down the board with the players, they want that. And when he’s ready, he’s just going to say, ‘I’m going to do it.’ We’re all going to be thrilled for it.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Keegan Bradley endorses Jim Furyk as pick for US Ryder Cup captain
Reporting by Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
