Team USA arrives at Medinah loaded with stars and history on its side, but the International Team hopes match play can finally end a 28-year drought.
The 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club has all the ingredients for another American celebration. Scottie Scheffler headlines a remarkably deep U.S. roster, Brandt Snedeker has proven match-play performers throughout his lineup, and history overwhelmingly favors the home team.
But handing over the trophy before Thursday would be dangerous.
The United States enters Medinah having won 10 consecutive Presidents Cups and owning a 13-1-1 record in the competition. The International Team's only victory came in Australia in 1998, while the 2003 event ended in a tie.
Still, 2024 offered a reminder of how quickly momentum can shift. The Americans swept Thursday's five matches at Royal Montreal before the Internationals answered with their own 5-0 sweep Friday, suddenly sending the competition into the weekend tied 5-5.
That's exactly the kind of chaos Geoff Ogilvy's International Team needs in Chicago.
Scheffler leads an American lineup that also features Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Henley, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas.
Young, Clark, Burns, Henley, Morikawa and Scheffler all qualified automatically, while Snedeker used captain's selections on Schauffele, Cantlay, Thomas, Chris Gotterup, Jackson Koivun and Jacob Bridgeman.
The International roster counters with Si Woo Kim, Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Kim, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im, among others.
For Snedeker, overwhelming talent doesn't eliminate the importance of preparation.
When he was named captain, Snedeker said his goal was to have the Americans “prepared and ready to compete” against what he expected to be a “unified and determined International Team.”
That may be particularly important in foursomes. America's talent advantage can become less meaningful in alternate-shot golf, where one poor swing can immediately put a pairing in trouble.
The Presidents Cup begins Thursday with five four-ball matches before moving to five foursomes matches Friday. Saturday features two sessions before Sunday's 12 singles matches settle the competition.
Thirty points are available.
On paper, America owns almost every advantage. Once match play begins, however, the scoreboards at Medinah won't care about rankings, betting odds or history.
That's the International Team's best hope.
