"I would have expected and definitely wished for a much better record than that," Furyk said Tuesday at Medinah.
It leads to a question that brings to mind the chicken and the egg.
Do they all have losing records because they are playing on losing teams? Or does the U.S keep losing because this triumvirate has losing records?
"I think it's both," Woods said Tuesday. "In order to win cups, you have to earn points. And we certainly have not earned points. And on top of that, Phil, Jim and myself have been put out there a lot during those years. So if we're not earning points, it's hard to win Ryder Cups that way."
So much has been expected. So little has been delivered. And they are running out of time to leave a lasting impression.
Furyk is 42 and has gone four of the last five PGA Tour seasons without winning, though the exception was in 2010 when he won three times and was voted player of the year. Even so, he had to rely on being a captain's pick for the first time.
Mickelson, also 42, has qualified for nine straight teams dating to 1995. He will set an American record for most Ryder Cups when the matches began Friday.
They Americans, dressed in navy blue shirts, headed out for the first full day of practice under warm sunshine in the Chicago suburbs. They played fourball matches among the three groups, which was evident when Bubba Watson and his pink-shafted driver drove through a dogleg on the 440-yard 11th hole and over the gallery's head.
U.S. captain Davis Love III finally showed his hand - and confirmed some obvious pairings in mind - by sending out Woods and Steve Stricker, Mickelson and Keegan Bradley, Watson and Webb Simpson. Other pairings were Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson, Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson, and Furyk and Brandt Snedeker.
