Brandt Snedeker allowed to make “mistakes” as Team USA fell behind in the Presidents Cup at Medinah. With the Internationals taking a three-point lead into Sunday, there was no denying Snedeker’s claim that he had made several mistakes, including bench Scottie Scheffler in quartets and a questionable pairing. The leader of the Americans had put him in a difficult position.
But when the the dust settled on Sunday evening after The Americans came back to win the Presidents Cup with a barrage of singles, one thing was clear: Snedeker’s biggest decision probably won the Americans the Presidents Cup. It was a choice he made a month ago, but the payoff came at a critical point in Team USA’s historic comeback.
With the Americans tied at the Internationals as the late afternoon sun dried Medinah, a match that Snedeker said he sees as most critical to his comeback chances came down to the 18th hole. There was 21-year-old Presidents Cup rookie Jackson Koivun, who held a 1-point lead over the best player at the Internationals, Si Woo Kim. Snedeker charged ahead of his singles lineup with his veteran horses — Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler — but saved Koivun, who turned pro in June, to serve as the star of the Internationals. Snedeker knew that if the Americans were to come back, beating the best players at the Internationals was key.
“I put him in a big spot today, a really big spot,” Snedeker said of putting Koivun against Si Woo Kim after the American won. “It was a massive match. If we had any chance today, he had to win that match. The guys were cheering in the room last night when we made that decision to put him in that spot. The whole team went crazy because they knew they wanted the kid to go up against Si Woo.”
Kim jumped on Koivun early and led 2-up through 10. But Koivun never flinched and then flipped the switch. He won 11, 12, 13 and 15 to take a 2 lead with three to play. Kim won the 16th, and they halved the 17th going into the 18th with the Internationals desperately needing Kim to win the hole and secure the halve. Facing a massive tee shot, Koivun calmly stepped into the tee box and slid his shot down the middle of the fairway.
So Koivun delivered the first defining shot of his pro match-play career. In the middle of the fairway, Koivun pulled an 8-iron, delivered a pure strike and swung his club as the ball sailed toward the green.
“Right to it, by the way. Right to it,” Snedeker said of Koivun’s approach on 18. “The shot of the day.”
The ball landed eight feet away, and minutes later Koivun had won the match 2 and 1 after Kim’s birdie putt missed, giving the United States a full point that took them to 14.5 and sinking a dagger into the hearts of the Internationals.
“I can’t get over what Jackson Koivun did today,” Snedeker said after the U.S. secured the win. “I put him in a really tough spot here. We thought he could handle it. Of course he did. He went in there and looked like the stud we knew he was going to be.”
Of course, it wasn’t a given that Koivun would be where he found himself Sunday at the Presidents Cup — the place his talent and potential said he belonged.
A month ago, before Snedeker made his six captain picks to round out the team, Koivun was the biggest talking point. After a historic amateur career, he turned professional and won in his third professional start in the 3M. He made the FedEx Cup Playoffs but bowed out after the first event. Will Snedeker take a 21-year-old with minimal professional experience over a number of veterans who have had good seasons, had previous team experience, or both? Should, to have a Koivun experience before next year’s Ryder Cup? It was a decision that previous US captains had not made. But that’s what the European captain Luke Donald did when he chose Ludvig Aberg for the 2023 Ryder Cup a few months after he turned professional. When it came time to make his selections, Snedeker went in chalk to start with Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Chris Gotterup. Then he chose Jacob Bridgeman, the best putter on the PGA Tour. And then Snedeker rounded off his team with Koivun.
“I’m so impressed with this young man,” Snedeker said after selecting Koivun. “I think he brings a lot to the team room; he brings a lot in terms of pairings. I know what this guy is capable of doing. I’m excited for him to show it to the world.”
Koivun did the same to Medinah.
He went 2-0-1 and was the only player to not lose a single game all week. He partnered with Thomas in both fourball sessions, and while Thomas was tabbed as Koivun’s “mentor,” the 21-year-old star did most of the lifting in that pairing. Then, on Sunday, when his team faced a historic setback, Koivun weathered a Kim storm and responded to deliver the knockout blow to the Internationals.
“The kid is special. He’s different,” Snedeker said. “You see a 21-year-old stand up and hit the last two balls like him, not many people like that. I have a team full of them here, but they are very rare to find.”
“He’s really good at golf,” Thomas said Sunday. “It’s really just – he understands. He’s very mature. It was really nice to watch him just do his thing.”
In what has become common for American team golf in recent years, the captain seemed unable to get out of his way in Medina. U The couple Chris Gotterup-Cameron Young arrived too late. The Jacob Bridgeman-Russell Henley pairing makes little sense. Benching Scheffler would have been an incendiary offense if the job didn’t have a firm end date. Snedeker’s missteps were many, and yet he is a winning captain because he did not follow the normal path. He did not do what the previous American owners had done and chose the player No. 8 or No. 10 in the ranking of points instead of going with a 21-year-old talent who was not in the top 25.
But Koivun is the next big thing in golf. It has already proven that the hype is real. Everyone expects him to be a mainstay of Team USA golf for the next decade. So Snedeker played a different tune from past U.S. captains and chose Koivun because he was capable of what he delivered Sunday. Because the rare talent, which beats in the world, regardless of age, is more important than the points earned in the Charles Schwab Challenge or the past team caps. Because what Jackson Koivun has can save you from any mistakes you make during tournament week. And he did.
“I think he brought it all and more,” Snedeker said. “He’s obviously a great player, but he’s a great kid. Super locked in what he’s doing. He’s an incredible competitor. I had a feeling for him. I don’t know what it was – just being around him, talking to people, knowing what he’s accomplished – I felt he was ready for the stage.”
Koivun was, and the Americans avoided a debacle of the Presidents’ Cup because of it.