US Presidents Cup captain Jim Furyk has told a reporter who proposed that the Presidents Cup needed the Internationals to win in Montreal for the betterment of the tournament going forward to “go f*** yourself”.
The Americans have won nine straight editions of the biennial event since the famous 2003 Presidents Cup in South Africa where captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player shook hands to call it a tie as darkness engulfed the course while Tiger Woods and Ernie Els played a sudden-death tiebreaker.
The Internationals have only triumphed once – at Royal Melbourne in 1998 – but have produced spirited performances in recent years – most notably at Royal Melbourne five years ago when they led going into the Sunday singles before falling short 16-14.
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The lop-sided nature of the event’s history has often led to discussion that an International victory would breathe new life into the rivalry, and when the topic was raised with Furyk by Golfweek’s Adam Schupak he was scathing of the reporter’s lack of patriotism.
“Really? You’re an American. I do actually take offence at that,” Furyk said.
“I don’t hate you but it’s pretty s***ty thing to say.
“It’s not like I’m killing you right now, but f*** you. Go f*** yourself. You can quote me on that.”
Schupak himself said on X that he had “no regrets” regarding his questioning of Furyk “because it was a window into how much next week’s Presidents Cup really means to him”.
It is not the first time that Furyk – who is a five-time Presidents Cup winner as a player as well as being a part of two more victories as an assistant captain – has released a tirade regarding his countrymen wanting an upset, however.
At the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey, the International team – which included Australians Adam Scott, Jason Day and Marc Leishman – were fancied to prevail, but the Americans dominated in a 19-11 to romp.
On a practice day, Furyk – who was a captain’s assistant – received a disingenuous “good luck, this week” from a high-ranking PGA Tour official who believed an International victory would the shot in the arm the event needed.
“Just the way he said it, it was so back-handed. I said, ‘you know, I’m not exactly sure I know what that’s supposed to mean,” Furyk said.
“Did you ever play anything in your entire life as a competitor? Because I’d rather you not even say good luck than say it and not even mean it. Do you know how hard, how many hours, the captains work to try to win these matches?
“Do you know how hard and how much effort the players, how hard they take it when they don’t play well? I’ve seen grown men cry in the locker room because they’re upset, and I’ve seen how much it means to them when they do play well.
“I know what you’re saying, but do you know how offended I am? He said, ‘we’ll I’m sorry’. I said, ‘no, you should know better’.”
Furyk has never captained the US in the Presidents Cup before, but the upcoming event will be his shot at redemption for the 2018 Ryder Cup when the Americans were smashed 17.5 to 10.5 by the Europeans under his watch at Le Golf National in Paris.
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