“I saw grown men crying in the locker room” – Presidents Cup captain Jim Furyk on Ryder Cup players’ attitude difference

Jim Furyk is set to captain the US Presidents Cup team at the Royal Montreal Golf Club this weekend. Ahead of the event, the ace golfer revealed that the players have different attitudes while playing in this competition and the Ryder Cup.

According to the US skipper, who was the captain of the 2018 US Ryder Cup team at Le Golf National in France, players are a ‘little bit more loose’ while playing the Presidents Cup. Furyk, who also served as a vice-captain for the Ryder Cup in 2016, 2020 and 2023, revealed that he’s seen “grown men crying in the locker room” during the US vs Europe events.

He claimed that the players put ‘a lot of pressure on themselves’ and ‘push’ in the Ryder Cup compared to the Presidents Cup.

Speaking in the 2024 Presidents Cup captains’ press conference alongside Mike Wier in Montreal, Jim Furyk said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:

“I think a lot of it is our team room looks different in both events. I think the guys put a lot of pressure on themselves. They try a little too hard. They push in the Ryder Cup. They want to prove everyone wrong, and sometimes maybe when you try too hard, you kind of get in your own way, if that makes sense. That's probably the best I can do…

I saw grown men crying in the locker room after some of those events. That always frustrated me, but there's not much you can do about it… I think in this event (Presidents Cup) we play a little bit more loose, we play a little more free.”

Jim Furyk revealed that it's very instrumental for captains to spend time in their team rooms. The 17-time PGA tour winner stated that “the more times you get opportunities” to be in team rooms help you grow and “learn the team experience.”

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Jim Furyk on learning from 2018 Ryder Cup loss

Thomas Bjorn’s European Ryder Cup side won the 2018 Ryder Cup held at the Albatros Course of Le Golf National in Guyancourt, France. The 42nd edition of the international competition was only the second Ryder Cup to be held in Continental Europe (rather than Great Britain or Ireland) after the 1997 outing in Spain.

The European team took the home advantage and beat Jim Furyk’s US side by 17 1/2 points to 10 1/2.

Addressing the loss, Furyk has now said he will take experiences from the past and work on them to improve his side. The ace golfer didn’t hold back and admitted that he would “go back and change” certain things from the 2018 competition if he could. The Presidents Cup captain reiterated that he’s planning to run his new team a “little different.”

Jim Furyk said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:

“I'll run this team a little different. I'll draw from some good experiences that we've had in the past… The biggest question I always get asked from '18 is would you -- if you had the chance to go back and do something differently, would you? First time I heard the question, I started laughing.

My answer was very simple; how arrogant would you have to be to say, nope, we didn't win, but I wouldn't do anything different at all. Of course I would. I'd go back and change it. So, I'm trying to implement some of those changes and kind of put those in for '24, which has been kind of a big push for me.”

The 2024 Presidents Cup will tee off with the Four-ball session one on Thursday, September 26 at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Canada.