U.S. captain Jim Furyk said Tuesday it would be “great” if Patrick Reed were among the 12 best Americans for the Ryder Cup next year in Ireland, even though Reed criticized Furyk's first captaincy after the 2018 loss in Paris.
Reed hasn't been on a Ryder Cup team since those 2018 matches, another debacle for the U.S. team that ended with Reed telling The New York Times he should have been partners with Jordan Spieth and Furyk should not have benched him twice that week.
Reed, among the first to defect to LIV Golf in 2022, chose not to renew his LIV contract this year and leads the European tour points list, assuring him a return to the PGA Tour next year.
“We are going to put the best 12 guys, the best team of 12, on this team,” Furyk said from Adare Manor during a news conference with European captain Luke Donald to mark the matches being one year away. “If Patrick Reed is one of those, that's great. It's been a long time since he's been in our team room.”
Steve Stricker left Reed off the team for the 2021 Ryder Cup the Americans won at Whistling Straits. He was not seriously considered for the Rome matches in 2023 or the Bethpage Black matches in 2025, even though he had top-5 finishes at the Masters both those years.
Furyk already has changed U.S. qualifying for Adare Manor so that no one begins earning points until the 2027 season. Reed, who is No. 29 in the world ranking as he closes out his European tour schedule, could be eligible for signature events if he's in the top 30 at the time of those events.
His last time in the U.S. team room was at Royal Melbourne in 2019 for the Presidents Cup, where he was heckled by the Australian gallery a week after he was penalized in the Bahamas for improving his lie in a sandy waste area.
Six players qualify and Furyk will have six captain's picks for the Sept. 17-19 matches.
“Patrick and I will have that conversation," Furyk said. “And I'm looking forward to welcoming our best team of 12.”
Furyk's more immediate concern was finding a solution for the recent trend of abysmal U.S. play in foursomes. The Americans have been outgained 26-8 in foursomes in the last two Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups. The deficit is 13-3 to Europe in the Ryder Cup.
They have been blanked in three sessions — the opening session at Marco Simone in 2023, and each of the last two times in the Presidents Cup.
“I know those numbers very, very well. I’ve lived them the last four,” Furyk said. "It's not an anomaly. There's some issues — we understand that. I plan on making some changes. As captains, we need to do a better job, not only put the folks into good pairings in good positions, but I don’t think we are preparing for those matches in a proper way.
“And I promise you, we will be prepared,” he said. “I'm going to ask this team to do more than any other United States team has in the past. We’ll be prepared. We’ll be ready to go in that format, and hopefully we can showcase our talent. We have too much depth to have that poor record in alternate shot.”
Furyk said he will ask prospective players to go to Adare Manor next summer around the two-week stretch of the Scottish Open and British Open.
He was in a tough spot as 2018 captain for the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National. The course was set up tight with deep rough. Some players suited for the course were not in great form. Tiger Woods had just won the Tour Championship and Bryson DeChambeau won two playoff events. They combined to go 0-7-0 for the week.
Donald returns as captain for the third time, bidding to become the first captain in Ryder Cup history to lead three teams to victory.
“I have zero complacency about how strong the U.S. are going to be. They always are. On paper, they tend to be stronger than us through the world rankings,” Donald said. "Obviously we have a great record at home, but again, zero complacency. I’ve seen what Jim has been doing behind the scenes, changing the stats, changing the qualification system. He is very, very motivated to come here and put up a good fight.
“Certainly I’m just as motivated to sort of keep finding those edges for my team.”
See AP’s full golf coverage here
England's Luke Donald tees off on the 5th hole during the day two of the 2026 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Kingsbarns Golf Course in St Andrews, Scotland, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)
From left; USA team assistants Webb Simpson, Jim Furyk, Gary Woodland, Captain Brandt Snedeker, and assistant Keegan Bradley attend the four-ball match Captain's Pairings prior to the start of the Presidents Cup golf tournament against the International team at Medinah Country Club, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
USA team captain Brandt Snedeker celebrates with assistant Jim Furyk fter their Presidents Cup golf tournament win against the International team at Medinah Country Club, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
CHICAGO (AP) — It’s official: Skydance-owned Paramount closed its $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, ushering in a new Hollywood giant.
The merger brings two of America’s oldest moviemaking studios together under a new name: Skydance. The deal, which followed a tumultuous, roughly yearlong fight, further concentrates power in an industry already run by just a handful of major players.
HBO Max, titles ranging from “Harry Potter” to “Sinners” and networks such as CNN now find themselves under the same roof as Paramount+, CBS and the likes of “Top Gun” and “The Godfather.” All are under the helm of billionaire David Ellison and his new co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
“Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry,” Ellison said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited to get to work.”
Including billions of dollars in debt, the Warner acquisition amounts to nearly $111 billion.
Ellison’s Skydance bought Paramount for $8 billion last year before setting its sights on Warner. What followed was one of the biggest tie-ups ever in the media and entertainment industry.
The early days of Paramount's quest for Warner turned into a messy bidding war.
Months after disclosing it was open to selling all or part of its business, Warner initially struck a studio and streaming deal with Netflix in December.
But Paramount said it also had made offers that Warner management “never engaged meaningfully” with. It soon launched a hostile counterbid.
The Hollywood giants spent much of early 2026 in a heated back-and-forth over who had a stronger offer, with Warner leadership repeatedly backing Netflix as its preferred suitor. But Netflix bowed out after Paramount eventually upped its offer to buy all of Warner for $31 per share.
Warner and Paramount inked a mutual merger agreement in late February.
Hollywood was closely watching the fight over Warner's future. From awards shows to online petitions, A-list celebrities and other creatives made their voices known.
In April, thousands of movie stars, writers, directors and other professionals announced their “unequivocal opposition” to the Paramount-Warner merger. An open letter — which was signed by long-outspoken critics of the deal like Jane Fonda and Mark Ruffalo, as well as Hollywood heavyweights from Denis Villeneuve to J.J. Abrams — warned of fewer jobs and “less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world.”
Others lined up to back Paramount as Ellison reiterated his commitments to the movies. At CinemaCon, the company debuted a glossy mini movie about the studio directed by Jon M. Chu and narrated by Tom Cruise — who ended the spot atop the iconic Paramount water tower, with the words “the future is paramount and the future looks pretty great from here.” Director James Cameron also doubled down on his support of Ellison.
The prospect of a new Warner owner also loomed over awards season, from #BlockTheMerger pins to more subtle nods in acceptance speeches. When accepting her Emmy last month, “Remarkably Bright Creatures” actor Sally Field — who also signed the open letter in opposition to the Paramount-Warner deal — stressed that “unique storytelling matters” and “we can’t let those voices be silenced, or compromised or merged.”
Many industry critics were also outspoken when Netflix's studio and streaming deal was on the table, with a particular focus on the future of movies staying in theaters.
President Donald Trump has regularly attacked reporting he deems unfavorable at CNN (most recently attempting to bar the outlet from the White House altogether). Over the course of the Warner buyout, his administration chimed in about hopes for a new owner.
Days after Paramount launched its hostile bid for Warner last year, Trump said that CNN spread “poison and lies,” adding that “I think the people who have run CNN for the last long period of time are a disgrace” and “it’s imperative that CNN be sold.”
The White House took aim again at CNN in March, over the network's coverage of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters that “the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”
Ellison has said editorial independence will be maintained at CNN. Skydance is retaining Mark Thompson as CNN’s editor-in-chief.
Under a settlement finalized last month with states that had sued over the takeover, the company agreed to form a “News Editorial Independence Board.”
Critics point to turmoil already seen at CBS under Skydance ownership and aren’t convinced this new body will move the needle much, because Ellison is set to have ample oversight over appointments.
Trump has continued to criticize CBS coverage under Skydance ownership. Still, the president has held a long relationship with the Ellison family.
Paramount's chief reportedly hosted a dinner in Washington in Trump’s honor in April, on the same day Warner shareholders gave their green light for the merger. In June, just two days after the Justice Department said it wouldn't intervene in the deal, Ellison attended an Ultimate Fighting Championship match on the White House lawn for Trump’s 80th birthday (streamed by Paramount+).
To help fund its Warner buyout, Paramount racked up billions of dollars in financial backing from three Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The Federal Communications Commission approved the company’s request for sizable indirect ownership from those foreign investors.
Paramount previously disclosed it expected those funds to indirectly own nearly 50% of equity interests — but no voting rights — of Skydance. But the company asked for clearance of up to 100% to account for potential future investments, which the FCC granted, citing in part that access to more capital would strengthen the broadcast industry and was therefore “in the public interest.”
The FCC’s sole Democratic commissioner, Anna Gomez, and other critics have called the move alarming and unprecedented. They argue that amount of money opens the door to behind-the-scenes influence.
Paramount cleared antitrust hurdles for its Warner acquisition from the Justice Department and regulators worldwide over the summer.
But in July, Democratic attorneys general from 12 states — led by California's Rob Bonta — sued to block the merger, alleging the combined company would “extinguish competition” and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly movie theatergoers and cable customers across the U.S.
The Writers Guild of America followed suit.
Settlements emerged in September. The states' terms, eventually approved by a judge, include pledges from the company to increase film production in the U.S. over the next five years, commit millions of dollars to a fund aimed at supporting workers displaced by the merger and again establish new editorial monitoring of CNN and CBS.
Critics said the remedies were too weak, but the settlements cleared the way for the deal to close.
FILE - The Warner Bros. water tower is seen at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., on Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
