U.S. Presidents Cup captain Jim Furyk tells reporter '(expletive) you. Go (expletive) yourself'
By Adam Woodard
Jim Furyk is known for his calm demeanor. The U.S. Presidents Cup captain was anything but in a recent interview with Golfweek’s Adam Schupak.
At last week’s Procore Championship in California, the pair were talking about the upcoming Presidents Cup, Sept. 24-29 at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada. At the end of the interview, Schupak said to Furyk, “Don’t hate me for this but I kind of hope your team loses.”
That’s a bold thing to say as a journalist. Furyk naturally took exception to the comment, and replied, “Really? You’re American. You’ve got to understand, I do actually take offense at that. I don’t hate you but it’s a pretty (expletive) thing to say.”
Realizing his misstep, Schupak then tried to explain himself and that as a writer, he cheers for the story, not the team. His comment should have been a question along the lines of whether or not the Internationals needed a win to make the biennial competition more competitive. His response to Furyk instead was, “It’s nothing personal, but the competition really needs an International Team victory to energize the matches.”
Is he wrong? No. The Americans are 12-1-1 against the Europeans and haven’t lost since 1998 in Australia. The lone tie came five years later in South Africa. The Internationals are in desperate need of a win, but the comment should’ve been a better-phrased question. Back to the tense interaction.
Furyk then told a story from the 2017 Presidents Cup about how a high-ranking PGA Tour official gave him and then-captain Steve Stricker what they perceived as a back-handed “Good luck, this week.” After Furyk explained why he was offended by the comment, the Tour official said, “Well, I’m sorry,” and Furyk replied, “No, you should know better.”
At the end of that story, Fuyrk said to Schupak, “So it’s not like I’m killing you right now, but (expletive) you. Go (expletive) yourself. You can quote me on that one.”
Furyk probably shouldn’t have been so direct and foul-mouthed and Schupak should’ve asked a better question. Regardless, American fans should be proud of how much the event means to Furyk despite the American dominance over the last two decades. I don’t know about you, but I certainly can’t wait for the first press conference in Montreal next week.
MORE TOP STORIES FROM THE BIG LEAD
NFL: Eli Manning leads class of 2025 nominees for Hall of Fame
MLB: Stephen Vogt locks up AL Manager of the Year with emotional postgame remarks
GOLF: LIV, PGA Tour players seem determined to damage sport as much as possible
ROUNDUP: Don’t miss the Roundup!