data-mm-id=”_5uvbha7hm”>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 LEADNFL: Eli Manning leads class of 2025 nominees for Hall of FameMLB: Stephen Vogt locks up AL Manager of the Year with emotional postgame remarksGOLF: LIV, PGA Tour players seem determined to damage sport as much as possibleROUNDUP: Don’t miss the Roundup!
Related Posts
Competition: Euro 2016
Market: Switzerland to qualify
Odds:
Switzerland haven’t had the best international week, suffering defeats to the Republic of Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina in friendlies, but are still looking forward to this summer’s European Championships after a promising qualifying campaign.
The prestigious international tournament doesn’t kick off until June, and the Swiss outfit still have a handful of friendlies to come to build up some momentum ahead of the Championship. A lack of goals in their last two games is somewhat of a worry, so they’re likely to use their remaining friendlies as an indicator of their performance levels.
Switzerland were drawn in Group A along with France, Romania and Albania, and stand a good chance …
Cristiano Ronaldo s Portugal hiatus has come to an end after he was included in a 25-man squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers against Ukraine and Serbia.
Ronaldo, 34, has not played for his country since their disappointing World Cup campaign which saw them eliminated by Uruguay in the last 16.
The Juventus forward was allowed to miss the international get-together in September, and that extended to matches in October and November, as he settled into life at his new club.
Portugal did not suffer without him, however, going undefeated as they recorded three wins in six matches, qualifying for the Nations League Finals in the process.
But, with Euro 2020 qualifying set to start, Ronaldo is back involved with the national team.
Coach Fernando Santos has al…
Best odds: 173/100
Bookmaker:
The Championship s opening weekend features a Midlands showdown as Stoke City host Coventry City at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Stoke aim to break free from their run of midtable finishes, while Coventry will have their sights set on a long-awaited promotion to the Premier League after several near misses in recent years.
Stoke City
Since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018, Stoke City have experienced six consecutive seasons of bottom-half finishes in the Championship, leaving fans at the bet365 Stadium with little to cheer about. Facing a potential relegation battle early last season under Alex Neil, the club made a decisive managerial change in December by appointing Steven Schumacher, who had …
England boss Sarina Wiegman felt the Lionesses exhausted every effort to win their first Women’s World Cup final despite coming up just short with a 1-0 loss to Spain in Sydney.
The Dutch boss, who led England to their first major trophy at last summer’s European Championship, finds herself with a silver medal in two consecutive attempts after steering 2019 runners-up the Netherlands to the title-decider four years ago in France.
Second place is still a best-ever finish for the Lionesses in a global showpiece, beating their bronze medal from 2015, but the three-time FIFA Best winning coach knows from experience it may take some time before the sting subsides.
Sarina Wiegman gives us her reaction to our defeat…
— Lionesses (@Lionesses)
Wi…
Dani Carvajal will miss Euro 2016 after sustaining an injury in Saturday s Champions League final.
Madrid revealed on Monday that Carvajal, 24, suffered a grade two muscle injury at San Siro, opening the door for Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin to take his place in Spain s squad.
Bellerin made his international debut in Sunday s 3-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina and will face competition from Cesar Azpilicueta and Juanfran for a starting spot in Vicente del Bosque s side.
Very proud day for me my family! Unbelievable feeling to get my first cap for ! Boyhood dream come true
— Héctor Bellerín (@HectorBellerin)
I m available to the coach for whatever is needed I m delighted with the experience, Bellerin, 21, told a news conference.
I…
Mick McCarthy remains confident his Republic of Ireland squad can book a place at Euro 2020 despite missing out on automatic qualification.
Ireland were held to a 1-1 draw in Monday s must-win qualifier against Denmark at the Aviva Stadium to finish third in Group D, three points behind their opponents.
Matt Doherty headed home five minutes from time to cancel out Martin Braithwaite s 73rd-minute opener, but McCarthy s men must settle for a play-off spot.
A one-legged semi-final and final will be played in March and McCarthy believes his side are in with a shot, provided they replicate their performance against Denmark.
FULL TIME | It ends in a draw, as Ireland move into March s Play-Offs
— FAIreland (@FAIreland)
We can bea…
Mark Robins made a Premier League vow just hours after guiding Coventry out of League Two, former captain Michael Doyle has revealed.
The ex-Sky Blues midfielder skippered the club to their first promotion in 51 years in 2018 to kick-start their journey to the brink of a top-flight return.
Coventry beat Exeter 3-1 in the play-off final with Doyle lifting the trophy at Wembley and the Sky Blues are now dreaming of a repeat in Saturday’s Championship play-off final against Luton.
Robins, who signed a new four-year deal this month, took them out of the fourth tier at the first attempt after returning 14 months earlier for a second spell and, even then, outlined his vision to Doyle.
He told the PA news agency: “The night we got promoted from League Two we…
FIFA President Sepp Blatter was in attendance as the 11 Russian host cities to stage 2018 FIFA World Cup fixtures were announced on Saturday.
Blatter was flanked by Russia s Minister for Sport and Chairman of the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee (LOC) Vitaly Mutko at the ceremony.
Moscow, St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Saransk, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi and Ekaterinburg will all host matches during the tournament.
Two venues in Moscow the 90,000-seat Luzhniki Stadium and a 45,000-seat arena set to built by Russian football club Spartak Moscow will host matches, meaning a total of 12 stadiums in 11 cities will be used.
The announcement of the host cities is the first concrete step taken in the delivery of the 2018…
Olivier Giroud has confirmed he will retire from international duty after Euro 2024.
Giroud is France s record goalscorer, having netted 57 goals in 131 appearances for Les Bleus.
The 37-year-old has featured for France at Euro 2012, 2016 and 2020, as well as winning the World Cup with Didier Deschamps team in 2018 and helping them reach the final in 2022.
Euro 2024 will mark his final appearances for the national team, though, with Giroud who is leaving Milan to join Los Angeles FC in MLS revealing he is stepping aside.
In an interview with L Equipe, Giroud said: Obviously I m going to miss it a lot, but I think my time with the French team will be over after the Euros. I need to cede my place for the young players.
Co-president and General Mana…
Vincent Kompany insists Leon Goretzka will continue to be important for Bayern Munich, despite his limited game time this season.
The Germany midfielder has fallen down the pecking order behind the likes of new signing Joao Palhinha, and played just 21 minutes this term.
Nine of those came on Tuesday, when he scored as a late substitute to complete his side s 9-2 rout of Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener.
Though the 29-year-old has found opportunities hard to come by, Kompany maintains he is an integral part of Bayern s squad.
He s important for us and will continue to be, Kompany told DAZN. The team loves him. I only have players who want to play and accept the competition for places.
At Bayern, it s always easy to talk about indi…