Getting the opportunity to watch Jack Nicklaus do his magic must have been an amazing experience. Anyone who has had the opportunity to watch him play could attest to that. Even those who have been mentored by him have the same thing to say. And one of them is Jim Furyk, who shared what he learned from the Golden Bear when he was captaining Team U.S. in the Presidents Cup.

The golf legend joined the latest episode of the 5 Clubs podcast, where he was asked what he learned from that experience. Furyk told Gary Williams, “Having the opportunity to play in nine Ryder Cups and seven Presidents Cups, Tabitha and I were always hopeful that we’d have the opportunity to captain a team.” After getting to play both events so many times, Furyk did manage to be the captain for Team U.S. in the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup as well. He led the American side in the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National and the 2024 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club. By then, he had already learned a lot from the previous captains.

“You pick little bits and pieces from each captain. I loved playing for each and every one of them. You pick the little bits and pieces, things that they did, things that they said. You try to gather that information, you try to include that in your captaincy. Tabitha and I had a blast. We had the opportunity to do it twice. My soulmate; she’s unbelievable with the gals, as Barbara Nicholas was with the gals. Everyone looks up to Barbara, players included.”

Getting the opportunity to work with Paul Azinger and Ben Crenshaw in the Ryder Cup, Furyk knew what it took to win the event already. He also had the opportunity to be captained by Jack Nicklaus & Fred Couples. Along with learning how to lead the team himself, Furyk’s wife, Tabitha, also picked up important lessons from Barbara Nicklaus on how to command respect and attention from the dressing room. Hence, Tabitha & Jim Furyk formed a formidable unit that led Team U.S. exceptionally.

However, he still remembers his days as a player fondly: “That day was one of the greatest days of my golfing career, just from the fact that Jack sent me out first. I was the U.S. Open champion playing Mike Weir, the Masters Champion. It was one of the most exciting days of golf in any team competition. I got to ride because it was the first match. I got to ride with Jack for two hours in the cart and just pick his brain and hear him tell stories.”

Recollecting the 2003 Presidents Cup Sunday, Jack Nicklaus had asked Jim Furyk to go out on the field first. It came as a surprise, considering they already had much bigger names like Tiger Woods & Phil Mickelson in their squad. Yet, the Golden Bear entrusted the 2003 U.S. Open Champion to take on the 2003 Masters Tournament winner. And Furyk also gets to spend two hours on the golf cart with Nicklaus due to that. So he used all that time wisely to pick his brain and get all the tips that he could.

That certainly helped him during the match: “Of course, we’re nervous. We’re rooting for our team. Then, one of the greatest playoffs in history as well. That match ended up the way it should have. It should have been a tie. Great sportsmanship that went along with it.” It could have gone either way. Even Furyk admitted that it should have been a tie. But the American legend ended up winning it 3 & 1 against Weir. That started Team U.S.’s great rally against the International side.

However, there was a time when Nicklaus also put Furyk in a far more challenging situation. In the 2005 Presidents Cup, he had sustained an injury, and yet, he was asked to take the field by his captain. After Williams inquired about it, he said, “That was a different year, but it was at RTJ (Robert Trent Jones Golf Club). I had a rib injury, dying a thousand deaths. That’s the first time I got paired with Tiger Woods. The entire world was watching. I played, horrible, and Tiger, amazing. He basically won the fourball match on his own.”

In the Friday Fourball match, despite his injury, Furyk was forced to team up against Tiger Woods. And as he confessed, he was absolutely useless in the match. The big cat led their team against the Australian duo of Stuart Appleby & Mark Hensby. In the end, thanks to Woods’s amazing efforts, they won 3 & 2. Then again, the 82-time PGA Tour champion always performed well in the Presidents Cup. It was the Ryder Cup where he really struggled the most. Coming back to Furyk, after his match on Friday, he made a request to captain Nicklaus.

“I told Jack, just put me out on alternate shots. I only have to hit half the shots. I can’t go 36. He looked at Tabitha and said, ‘Get him ready. He goes, I’m throwing your horse out. He’s going 36 tomorrow.’ Surprise to me, but the injury came around, my game came around, and I played a lot better the next day with Tiger. I think we won both matches.”

On Saturday morning, Woods & Furyk joined forces again against Appleby & Vijay Singh in a foursomes match. As the 2024 Presidents Cup captain mentioned, he was in much better health by then. However, what he failed to remember was that they didn’t actually win their match. They ended up sharing the point against their Team International rivals that morning. However, Furyk was fit enough now to play the fourball later that day as well. They lined up against the same pair. The only difference was, Woods & Furyk won their match 2 UP this time. Team U.S. also ended up winning the tournament 18½ to 15½

Did learning from Jack Nicklaus & Co. help Jim Furyk become a better captain himself? Let’s look at his record leading Team U.S.

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Did Jack Nicklaus help Jim Furyk become a better captain?

Playing under big players and great captains like Jack Nicklaus would have hugely benefited Jim Furyk’s approach to the role. Also, as he mentioned, the fact that he has played nine Ryder Cups and seven Presidents Cups also meant that he had a plethora of experience understanding the perspective of a player. So it didn’t come as a surprise when he was asked to lead Team U.S. in both tournaments. And Furyk nearly nailed his strategy in France in 2018.

Playing an away Ryder Cup, he and his team developed the perfect strategy to give Team U.S. the perfect start. They won the morning fourball sessions on Thursday 3-1 against the Europeans. In fact, the only pair that lost their match on Thursday morning were Patrick Reed & Tiger Woods. However, the American side didn’t see much glory after that, as they could only accumulate 3 more points until Sunday. Team U.S. ended up losing the 2018 Ryder Cup 10½ to 17½ in the end.

Fortunately, Jim Furyk’s time as the Presidents Cup captain wasn’t as dreadful. In 2024, he helped Team U.S. dominate the International team as they won 18½ to 11½. With the 2027 Ryder Cup captain still to be decided, giving Furyk another go at the position won’t be a bad option. Especially considering his success in 2024.