Team USA enters the 2026 Presidents Cup as a heavy favorite at Medinah, where Scottie Scheffler leads a deep American roster against the Internationals.
The 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club presents the United States with an opportunity to extend one of golf’s most dominant runs, but the Americans arrive in Chicago with something to prove after another frustrating Ryder Cup performance.
Team USA has captured 10 consecutive Presidents Cups and owns a 13-1-1 record in the competition. Its only loss came in Australia in 1998. Now captain Brandt Snedeker brings another loaded American roster into Medinah’s famed No. 3 course.
The betting market reflects that talent gap. The United States has been listed around -550, with Geoff Ogilvy’s International Team near +500.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlines an American lineup featuring Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Henley, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas.
Rising players Chris Gotterup, Jackson Koivun and Jacob Bridgeman add youth to the mix.
The rankings underline the challenge facing the Internationals. Si Woo Kim, ranked No. 14 in the world, is their highest-ranked player entering the event.
Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee and veteran Adam Scott provide experience, but the roster doesn’t have the same top-to-bottom rankings as the Americans.
That doesn’t mean the week lacks intrigue.
Burns went 3-0-1 without losing a match in the 2024 Presidents Cup, while Young showed his match-play potential with a 3-1 record at the Ryder Cup.
Koivun, meanwhile, arrives at just 20 years old with extensive match-play experience from his amateur career.
Kim could again become the emotional center of the International side. His memorable “night night” celebration in Montreal two years ago helped make him one of the event’s most entertaining personalities.
The stage adds another layer. Medinah hosted Europe’s remarkable Ryder Cup comeback in 2012, giving the International Team a reminder that heavy favorites don’t always control match play.
As one prediction put it, “It is such an uphill climb for the International side.” On paper, absolutely.
Beginning Thursday, they get four days to prove paper doesn’t decide the Presidents Cup.
