Team USA’s Presidents Cup captain Jim Furyk has confirmed he is planning to “reach out” to Tiger Woods over the prospect of the 15-time Major winner becoming an assistant captain at Royal Montreal later this month.
Furyk currently has Kevin Kisner, Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard, and Keegan Bradley among his leadership group for when Team USA take on Team International in Canada between September 26-29.
However, there is a fifth assistant-captain spot available to Furyk should he want it, and the 2003 US Open champion admitted he may well be looking to a certain 82-time PGA Tour winner.
Speaking to Golfweek about whether or not Woods is in his plans, Furyk said: “I’ll reach out to Tiger. I think we all kind of expected that he was going to be named Ryder Cup captain, and when that didn’t happen, I know he’s got his plate full with the PGA Tour and working on our board, which seems to be a lot of work at the moment.
“So I’ll reach out, say hello. You know, I know he’s got some great strategy. He’s got some great stuff with pairings, but as of yet I haven’t reached out.”
Woods was expected to become Team USA’s Ryder Cup captain in 2025
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Woods was expected to become the Americans’ next Ryder Cup captain in 2025 when Bethpage Black hosts the biennial clash, but the PGA of America opted – somewhat surprisingly – for Bradley instead.
Before next September, though, there is a chance that Woods could oversee Bradley at the upcoming Presidents Cup, with Bradley putting himself under serious consideration for a wildcard pick thanks to some excellent play in 2024 that culminated in victory at the BMW Championship last month.
In the final Presidents Cup standings, Team USA’s Ryder Cup captain is ranked 10th in front of players like Brian Harman, Max Homa, Akshay Bhatia, and Justin Thomas.
Furyk admitted he has a difficult decision to make over whether Bradley should be included as a player or whether the 38-year-old from Vermont would benefit more from a debut experience in the captain’s room.
Asked if the Presidents Cup skipper would name a replacement for Bradley if he receives a pick, Furyk said: “I have only named four assistant captains and I’m allowed five. So, I still have one more to name and I have a pretty good idea who’ll that be.
Keegan Bradley pumps his fist after his BMW Championship victory
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“(As for replacing Keegan), that’s a road we’ll cross when I get there. We’ll wait and see who the picks are. Let’s not put the cart before the horse. I’ve got a plan of what I want to do, I just don’t want to talk about it that in-depth, how’s that?”
Both Furyk and International team captain, Mike Weir are set to reveal their six Presidents Cup wildcard picks on Golf Channel on Tuesday, September 3.
Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, and Sahith Theegala are the six US golfers who automatically secured their spot on Team USA.
Meanwhile, Team International will include automatic qualifiers; Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Adam Scott, Tom Kim, Jason Day, and Byeong Hun.
