Addressing the media in May 2026, the 2027 Ryder Cup US captain Jim Furyk said that the Americans needed a better method to fairly assess the top six golfers for the biennial event. He emphasized that the landscape has changed a lot in recent years. Now, the focus has shifted to money because the difference in purses between the Signature Events and the regular events is significant. Therefore, he suggested a points system. Now, he confirmed that a major overhaul is in place and could be announced after the FedExCup playoffs.
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“It’s going to be a big change,” Jim Furyk told Golfweek. “It’s going to be the right way to identify the best six players in September 2027.”
However, he declined to go into further detail.
Furyk had always emphasized recent form ever since he became the 2027 captain. The current system allocates points based on the official money earned. However, purses for Signature Events and major championships are twice those of regular events. Thus, someone winning two regular events would only equal or may still fall short of someone who wins a major. While majors are the biggest events of the year, a win at a major does not necessarily imply a good performance at the Ryder Cup held several months after that.
European team has made some changes to its qualification system for the 2027 Ryder Cup. It will retain the single Ryder Cup Points List and five event categories used for the 2025 cycle, with points allocated according to tournament status.
Jim Furyk’s emphasis on recent form didn’t come out of the blue. Explaining the reason behind the change and the focus on 2027 form, the American professional shared his own example from the 2011 Presidents Cup.
He told Golfweek that he qualified for the Presidents Cup team based on his 2010 success. Furyk won three PGA Tour events in 2010, including the Tour Championship. This also landed him the Player of the Year Award. But he had completely lost form in 2011, when he posted only four top-ten finishes in 26 events. Besides that, he also missed the cut in seven events. On the other hand, thanks to his 2010 wins, he was still at No. 10 and was automatically qualified for the team.
In the end, he came out of the 2011 Presidents Cup with a perfect 5-0 record, winning every single one of his matches.
Similarly, say Wyndham Clark won the 2026 US Open. But there’s a 15-month gap between the 2026 US Open and the 2027 Ryder Cup. There’s a lot that could go down in those 15 months, and Clark may have lost his touch by then.
Jim Furyk said the new system won’t discard all 2026 events. In fact, the 2026 major wins will get a good number of points. But the number won’t be enough to get someone qualified based on a single major win. Instead, recent form in 2027 will be given greater importance.
This means that golfers will have less protection from an isolated early victory. On the other hand, a consistent performer like Scottie Scheffler wouldn’t have to worry despite just one victory or no win at all. Thus, golfers heading to Adare Manor will have good momentum, which increases the chances of winning.
The major assessment overhaul comes in the wake of the recent Ryder Cup results. Team America has not won the event on foreign soil since 1993. The performance hasn’t been that great on home soil, too. Therefore, such a point system becomes a necessary measure to build a stronger team with a greater potential to win.
The revamped Ryder Cup points system could help Team USA select players based on current form rather than past achievements. With greater weight on 2027 performances, Furyk hopes to build a stronger and more competitive team for Adare Manor.