U.S. Presidents Cup captain Jim Furyk has insisted he’s learned from playing Tiger Woods in every session of the 2018 Ryder Cup.

Tiger Woods

Jim Furyk has insisted he has learned from the mistakes he made as the U.S. Ryder Cup captain as he prepares to lead the red, white and blue at the Presidents Cup. 

The 15th edition of the biennial contest gets underway on Thursday at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec.

Furyk is hoping his team will live up to its billing and, as expected, brush aside Mike Weir’s International team in Canada with ease.

An away win would mean Team USA has emerged victorious in every Presidents Cup since 2000.

Furyk has captaincy and vice-captaincy experience.

He was in charge of Team USA at the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in Paris.

His dozen got off to a hot start, racing into an early 3-1 lead against a European team skippered by Thomas Bjorn.

Furyk’s side only managed three more points in the next three team sessions.

Team Europe then dominated the Sunday singles, winning seven of the 12 matches and halving one.

By the end, the score was 17 1⁄2 – 10 1⁄2.

Unsurprisingly, Furyk was heavily criticised just like Zach Johnson has been after defeat in Rome last September.

One of Furyk’s mistakes, it was claimed, was playing Tiger Woods too much.

Woods came into the Ryder Cup having won the Tour Championship.

But it was immediately apparent that he was exhausted and, quite simply, not playing well.

Woods played four matches and, overall, went 0-4-0.

He never even reached the 18th hole in any of his matches.

Furyk wouldn’t divulge exactly what he learned from the Ryder Cup six years ago.

But he claimed in a recent interview with Golf Digest that he has.

He said: “I think you’ve heard me say this and I always laugh when people ask me, ‘Well, would you have done anything differently?’

“How damn arrogant would you have to be to say no? After the team doesn’t win and you go, ‘Nope, I’d do everything the same.’

“I’d just be saying, ‘It wasn’t me; it was them.’

“Look, we’re all in this together. So, of course, you second-guess decisions made along the way, and you try to learn from that.”

For his part, International captain Weir, 54, has claimed that his team really can cause a shock.

Cultural differences over the years in the locker room have played their part in a lack of team bonding, he said.

Weir’s assistant, Ernie Els, has played a key role in changing that.

Weir told Sky Sports: “The times we’ve seen the U.S. team celebrating their wins, I want that for our guys.

“Every time it doesn’t happen, it’s been extremely disappointing.

“I believe we have a really strong team this year, with young up-and-coming players with great energy to complement our veterans who will provide leadership.

“We’ve been part of this for a long time and we’re super hungry, and players like Adam Scott are hungry for it.

“I feel like it’s our time to get over the line in Montreal, and we’re going to be doing everything we can to get there.”