SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – U.S. captain Jim Furyk is already taking a calculated risk.
In announcing his fourballs pairings to start this Ryder Cup, Furyk has abandoned the successful partnerships that put the Americans on the verge of claiming four consecutive victories in team competitions.
That means no Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed.
And no Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka.
And no Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler.
Those duos went a combined 9-2-3 in partner play over the past two team events. Which most importantly resulted in two team victories.
Since the Presidents Cup has historically been such a lopsided affair, its purpose in recent years has been to provide an opportunity for the U.S. captain to build continuity and try out partnerships that might work the following year at the Ryder Cup.
Furyk, however, has decided to go in another direction, at least in the first team session.
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None of these twosomes have ever played together in a team competition.
“When we’re grouping up pairings, I’m not trying to get six twosomes out there and limit yourself with what you have,” he said Thursday night. “I’m looking for options.”
And these are unproven options.
Johnson and Koepka are close friends, neighbors in South Florida and frequent practice-round partners on Tour. Though they lost their only fourballs start together in the 2016 Ryder Cup, they cruised to a pair of victories last fall at the Presidents Cup.
Furyk said he approached Johnson and his new partner, Rickie Fowler, “weeks and weeks and weeks ago” about the possibility of linking up.
“Golf balls, mannerisms, what they like in their partner, personalities – they work together in a lot of different ways,” Furyk said. “Both have that laid-back mannerism that they both like, and I think they pair up real well.”
The most interesting breakup was Spieth and Reed, which appeared imminent to close observers of their practice-round groups.
Spieth and Reed are a combined 8-1-3 together, but Furyk said that he began exploring the possibility of splitting them up ever since it became clear that Tiger Woods would be a member of the team as a player and not just a vice captain.
Woods was a logical choice to go with Reed, a longtime admirer, while Spieth seemed a natural fit to play alongside Thomas, with whom he has played the most rounds of any player on Tour over the past decade and a half.
“There’s a lot of reasons why I think they match up,” Furyk said, “but surely the fact that they are good friends and they have that relationship and bond and have played a lot of golf together is key, as well.”
They’ve just never played together in a pressure-cooker like the Ryder Cup.
“In the past, having our most successful pairing in the Ryder Cup, we had one very good pairing,” Furyk said, referring to Spieth and Reed. “I think we came out of it with two very good pairings. The idea was to double up and try to get two.”
At the risk of possibly getting only one. Or, worse, none.
Indeed, by dissolving proven partnerships to try something new, Furyk has already opened himself up to a round of second-guessing.
We’ll find out Friday night whether he was right.
