JUST BE ON EUR GUARD
Furyk: I can see USA arriving at Ryder Cup in September with Rose & Co winners of the next three Majors
JIM FURYK fears over confidence could see America’s Ryder Cup hopes in the rough.
The US skipper is worried the dominance of his countrymen in the Majors will lead to complacency come September’s clash at Le Golf National in Paris.
All four men’s Majors are in the hands of Americans in Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and this week’s defending US Open champion, Brooks Koepka.
And, the Ryder, President’s, Solheim, Walker and Curtis Cups are also in American trophy cabinets.
But Furyk (right) is wary of a side featuring Justin Rose, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy.
He’s heard the same confident noises from partisan sections of his golf community suggesting September will be a cakewalk, like Hazeltine in 2016. And he doesn’t like it.
Furyk said: “By the time we get to September this situation is not going to be the case. I wouldn’t bet on the next three Majors being won by Americans. I mean it would be fun and I’ll be pulling for them to win.
“But come September none of that is really going to matter. We’ll have some of our core guys back in the team and coming off two solid years since Hazeltine and the President’s Cup, we’ll try to carry that momentum into Paris.
“But as good as our team looks, the other guys are darned good, too. The European team is really strong with a good mix of veteran leadership and young guys who are playing good golf.
“Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm. You know, Rahm has a shot of being number one in the world.
“We’ll have our hands full on a difficult golf course that they know very well with a crowd rooting for the Europeans. So I’m glad we’re going in with a really good group.”
At the heart of that group will be world No.1 Dustin Johnson. The big hitter from North Carolina was the standout performer for the first two days at Shinnecock Hills, opening up a four-shot lead by halfway.
But there’s another element of DJ’s success Furyk thinks is overlooked.
He added: “The one element of his game that’s most underrated is his course management.
“In order to be the best player in the world you have to manage your game and get the ball around the course wisely. That’s something no one really talks about with DJ.”