The eyes of the two men are already shifting sightlines ahead towards Adare Manor for next year’s centenary Ryder Cup match. And the extent of Jim Furyk’s willingness to buy into Irish sporting life is that one of his imminent dates in the diary is to visit the venue, and for the American captain to also take in a Munster hurling championship match involving Limerick as the guest of JP McManus.
“I realise he probably won’t be rooting for us, but I know he’s a gentleman and welcoming,” said Furyk of McManus. “I’m actually really interested in learning a bit more about the Celtic sports. I’ve talked to Paddy (Pádraig Harrington) about it little bit, and of a country that has their own identity and their own sporting world, it’s pretty cool.”
That hurling match is likely to be Limerick’s important Munster Championship group stage encounter against Tipperary at the Gaelic Grounds on May 24th.
Furyk isn’t playing here at the US PGA Championship, but Luke Donald – the European captain, seeking to win a third straight Ryder Cup in that role following his wins in Rome (2023) and Bethpage (2025) – is playing in Aronimink, his 18th career appearance with a best finish of tied-third back in 2006.
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Donald doesn’t play much these days – his last appearance was in the World Wide Technology tournament in Mexico last November – and his primary focus is on family, of course, and on Ryder Cup matters when it comes to golf duties.
The Englishman recently visited Adare Manor, although working on course set-up and other such matters (with the qualifying yet to start) remains a work in progress.
Donald didn’t have any direct influence on the decision to have an island of Ireland-only ticket sale last month but acknowledged: “It’s one of the biggest advantages of a home team is to have a great supportive crowd behind you. You obviously want to appease and welcome as many locals as possible.
“I think Ryder Cup Europe have been doing this long enough to understand that you want to include the locals as much as possible, and they’ve certainly done that ... I’ve played a lot of golf in Ireland over the years and the welcome you always get from these people is pretty incredible.
“I think we could create a great environment for the Ryder Cup and one that it truly deserves. I think it will be a nice way [for me] to end a Ryder Cup [playing and captaining career], being in Ireland, with those great golf fans.”
Furyk, a losing USA Ryder Cup captain in Paris in 2018, accepted the invitation to return in that role for Adare Manor only last month. Up to then, Tiger Woods had been seen as the likely captain but withdrew his name after being involved in a traffic incident.
Furyk didn’t need to think twice when asked. “I’ll be honest, I was hoping I’d be approached,” he said.
The USA haven’t won an away match since The Belfry in England in 1993 and that’s something Furyk badly wants to change.
“Home course advantage, it’s one of the most interesting and amazing things about the Ryder Cup,” he explained. “We don’t see that in golf hardly at all.
“So we know what we’re getting into, and yes, Edoardo [Molinari], Luke, they’ll be looking at Adare Manor and try to do anything they can to tip the scales and give their team a slight advantage. So we know what we’re up against. It won’t be easy.
“When I look at the players, we’ve got a lot of talented players, but I also get six picks, and I’m going to pick the toughest, the grittiest, the ones that I know will thrive in an away match; that love a partisan crowd ... man, there’s something about it. I got a chill down my spine every time I got to fly to Europe and play for a crowd that was rooting against me. I think it’s great.”
