Jim Furyk had a team of rookie vice-captains with him during Team USA’s victorious 2024 Presidents Cup campaign. They made a rookie mistake of not communicating enough on the radio, and that’s all it took for the four-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Kisner to find himself on the receiving end of an unexpected talk from Furyk.

“Funny story about that at Montreal. I didn’t realize that we were all rookies. Stewart [Cink] would have never been an assistant either. Sned [Brandt Snedeker], I think he was in Rome. So we go tee off the first day. We had a great time all the way, and then the matches started. We’re all wearing our radios,” Kisner said on the Fore Play Podcast.

“I think Sned and I might have gone out in the first couple of groups and I’m on like four green and Jim comes on the radio and just blast us for like five minutes about us not talking enough on the radio and this is supposed to be fun and I’m stuck up here on this first tee introducing everybody and I don’t know sh*t that’s going on. Would somebody tell me what’s going on? I mean, he just berates us for like five minutes, and that radio from that speech on never was quiet again for more than maybe 10 seconds for the next four days, and there was more sh*t being talked and this sh*t going thrown around, and Jim’s like, ‘finally I love it.'”

The 2024 Presidents Cup was the first time Kevin Kisner fulfilled a leadership role. He was 40 at the time. The other three vice captains, Justin Leonard, Stewart Cink, and Brandt Snedeker, were also rookies. So, at that point, they obviously didn’t realize the importance of keeping the conversation active, but that was not the case with Furyk.

After failing to lead the American team to victory at the Ryder Cup 2018, Furyk understood what works best and what does not. Speaking at the CBS Sports HQ at the 2023 PGA Show about the key to winning a Ryder Cup event, he revealed that the captain needs to rely on the staff to win. He said that this staff will be the “eyes and the ears that you have on the golf course.”

He said the same in response when Kevin Kisner recalled the 2024 Presidents Cup incident. Per Furyk, most times, these conversations are not just about strategy. They are about connecting and keeping the spirit alive.

Regardless of how good he was at the 2024 Presidents Cup, fans still don’t see Furyk as a good fit for the 2027 Ryder Cup captain. When the PGA of America announced him as captain, he faced significant backlash. Many analysts were also outspoken about their feelings. Sean O’Brien said that Jim Furyk symbolized the incompetence of the American team at the Ryder Cup. However, Kevin Kisner came to his rescue, as the 4-time PGA Tour winner has firsthand experience working with Furyk.

“Jim’s still intimately involved with all the guys so much from being, you know, the Presidents Cup captain and assistant on the Ryder Cup team. You know, he’s trusted amongst the team and the guys… they [pros] feel comfortable around Jim,” Kisner said during a Fore Play Podcast episode.

Back in 2015, at the RBC Heritage Open, Furyk defeated Kisner to end a five-year winless drought in a 2-hole playoff.

Anyways, Jim Furyk will try to bring the winning strategy from the 2024 Presidents Cup to the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor. However, the American team has always had challenges playing on European soil. They have not won a single Ryder Cup event in Europe since 1993. However, Furyk is dedicated to achieving victory on foreign ground, and he is trying to build the same team for that, but without Kisner.

Kevin Kisner opens up about the captaincy role for the Ryder Cup 2027

After becoming the captain for the next Ryder Cup event, Jim Furyk started building his team. He brought two vice captains from the 2024 Presidents Cup.

“Adding Stewart and Justin to our leadership team is a crucial step as we prepare for Adare Manor in 2027,” he said.

Both of them have extensive Ryder Cup experience as players. Justin Leonard played in three Ryder Cups (1997, 1999, 2008), and Stewart Cink played in five consecutive Ryder Cups (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014). Furyk hopes that they will use that experience to lead the team to victory on foreign soil. This leaves only Brandt Snedeker and Kevin Kisner of the 2024 Presidents Cup team out of the picture.

After being a vice captain of the American side for the 2025 Ryder Cup, Kisner was asked if the PGA of America offered him a captaincy role before Furyk. He gave a befitting reply.

“Did they ask me? No. I don’t know if they’ll ever ask somebody that never played in the Ryder Cup,” Kisner said.

Kevin Kisner has never played in any Ryder Cup, so he does not have the experience.

While Kevin Kisner remains a strong supporter of Furyk, Ryder Cup experience appears to have been the deciding factor as Team USA prepares for another tough test on European soil.