Presidents Cup 2026: Teams, Format and What to Watch at Medinah
The United States and International teams meet at Medinah Country Club this week. Here is the confirmed lineup, the format, and the storylines worth following before a ball is struck.
This is a tournament preview written ahead of play. It does not include pairings, scores, or results — those will follow in a separate report once the matches are complete.
The Presidents Cup returns this week, and for the first time the matches head to Medinah Country Club, outside Chicago — a venue with a golf pedigree deep enough to match the occasion. From 24–27 September 2026, the United States and an International team drawn from outside Europe will play across four days of match play on Medinah's Course No. 3, one of American golf's most storied layouts.
The Venue
Medinah Country Club's Course No. 3 has hosted three U.S. Opens and a Ryder Cup, and its reputation precedes it: a tree-lined, demanding test that punishes wayward driving and rewards precise iron play. For a biennial team event built on momentum and pressure, a course with this much history adds weight to every match.
The Format
The Presidents Cup follows the same match play structure golf fans know from the Ryder Cup: sessions of foursomes and four-ball across the opening days, building to 12 singles matches on the final day. Points are awarded per match rather than by strokes across the field, which means the tournament can turn on a single putt, a single hole, or a single momentum swing in a way that stroke-play events rarely do.
The Teams
United States — Captain Brandt Snedeker
Automatic qualifiers:
- Scottie Scheffler
- Cameron Young
- Wyndham Clark
- Sam Burns
- Russell Henley
- Collin Morikawa
Captain's picks:
- Justin Thomas
- Xander Schauffele
- Patrick Cantlay
- Chris Gotterup
- Jacob Bridgeman
- Jackson Koivun
International — Captain Geoff Ogilvy
Automatic qualifiers:
- Si Woo Kim
- Ryan Fox
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Min Woo Lee
- Tom Kim
- Adam Scott
Captain's picks:
- Corey Conners
- Sungjae Im
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout
- Nick Taylor
- Nico Echavarria
- Ryo Hisatsune
What to Watch
The captains' first real test. Brandt Snedeker and Geoff Ogilvy are both leading a Presidents Cup team for the first time. Every pairing decision, every session rotation, and every wildcard justification will be scrutinised in a way that only comes with a debut captaincy.
Depth versus experience. The U.S. side leans on a mix of established major winners — Scheffler, Thomas, Schauffele, Morikawa, Cantlay — alongside newer names in Gotterup, Bridgeman and Koivun making their Presidents Cup debuts. How Snedeker blends proven form with fresh energy across the sessions will shape the week.
A genuinely global International side. With players from South Korea, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Colombia, the International team remains the most geographically diverse in team golf. Ogilvy's picks — Conners, Im, Bezuidenhout, Taylor, Echavarria and Hisatsune — add further range to a roster already built on automatic qualifiers from six different countries.
A course that rewards accuracy. Medinah's par-72 layout has historically favoured players who can control ball flight under pressure rather than simply overpower it. Expect that to influence pairing strategy on both sides, particularly in the foursomes sessions.
Momentum from recent history. The United States has won the last several editions of the Presidents Cup, and the International team arrives at Medinah looking to change that trend on a course neither side has previously contested this event on — a genuine unknown that could work in either direction.
We will follow up with a full results report once the matches at Medinah are complete.
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