In the end, the 2026 Presidents’ Cup was an exercise in extremes.
And in the end, American dominance in the singles game he overcame his ineptitude in the alternate stroke. After several stressful and disappointing days by the home team, it reignited long debates about the preparation of the American party and the team’s strategy, a 9-2-1 performance Sunday at Medina reminded us that, in the end, the best way to win in team golf competitions is to have the best players. If there was any doubt before the competition began in Chicago, there is no doubt now: the The Americans are the more talented side.
Every year, the team game competitions are an opportunity for the sport to take stock of itself. It is the American Talent Collection How good does it look on paper? Is the golden generation of International talent aging into a formidable threat to American dominance? Who are the young stars who will come to define the next decade of the event?
This Presidents Cup was no different. And with these thoughts in mind, let’s take a second to rate each performance.
Scottie Scheffler: B
It sounds crazy to say, but of all the players on the field in this Presidents Cup, Scheffler had the most to gain. The World No. 1 has been a largely disappointing player in team events, twice losing all four sessions of his “partner” in the Ryder Cup and generally falling well below his typical standard in strokes gained given and birdies made.
At the Presidents Cup, Scheffler appeared more comfortable in four balls, winning his sessions alongside his partner and friend Sam Burns, but still showed a liability in the alternative stroke, losing his only appearance as part of the International tidal wave on Friday afternoon. Captain Brandt Snedeker made perhaps the the most daring move of all his captaincy on Saturday morning, when he placed Scheffler for the alternate afternoon session, “resting” for Sunday. Then, the most important player on the American side achieved an important, but decidedly thin, victory over probably the weakest player on the international side, Nico Echavarria, in the singles session on Sunday.
Ultimately, his record for the week was 3-2-0, a solid performance for the USA match, but not enough to completely silence questions about his game ahead of September’s visit to Adare Manor.
Tom Kim: A
For four years Tom Kim is on stage for the first time at the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow, and it feels like he hasn’t missed a putt under 20 feet under the international flag in that time.
Kim finished well below his singles counterpart, Wyndham Clark, in DataGolf’s strokes gained data for the weekend. However, it was Kim who appeared when it was most important, delivering a victory of 3 and 2 for his fourth point on the International side, a high team.
Brandt Snedeker: D+
Snedeker deserves credit for keeping the team room together after a disaster started at the event. He also deserves a fair share of the blame for that disastrous start … and for the numerous (self-professed) follies and shenanigans that followed, including an apparent hour-long drive from the team hotel in downtown Chicago.
Think of the best Ryder and Presidents Cup teams you’ve ever seen. Think about the way their leadership operated. Did they seem in control? Do they seem to have a plan? Did they stay on the floor? When did they deviate, did it seem calculated? Did they look ready? What about his players?
Now think about what you saw from Snedeker and the US side this week. Anything this team did that made you feel better about their chances of competing against a much more formidable European side in 12 months? Being a captain is hard work, but this performance was not one for the record books.
Sam Burns: C-
Burns ends the week with two four-ball wins alongside Scottie Scheffler…and not much else. After a season in which he seemed to ascend to the upper echelon of players in the world, his Cup of Presidents instead served as a reminder that he has work to do before he fully arrives.
Nico Echavarría: D-
Anytime you lose more than seven shots at the course tee-to-green in the span of just two rounds of golf, you’re not having a great time. Nico Echavarria didn’t have a great time at Medinah, struggling in a very limited showing for the Internationals. He saved himself from a total failure grade for his performance in the final stretch against Scheffler on Sunday after the foul on the 14th tee box, but it certainly wasn’t the weekend he dreamed of in Chicago.
Cameron Young: A
Cam Young quickly develops into a serial killer in these team settings. In addition to Bethpage last year, Medinah marked two straight events where he was the best player on the US side by a few miles.
He is a legitimate star player who soars when he plays under the flag. Looking at the rest of the future US Ryder Cup roster, it’s a rarity — and a major addition.
Sungjae Im: A-
Sungjae Im was equally brilliant for INT, delivering a rare black flag on the board on Sunday when they needed it most. It took a few points off his record – which included a loss to Scheffler/Burns in four balls despite a late lead, and a Saturday afternoon punch by Young and Gotterup in an alternate stroke.
Corey Conners: C+
It’s fair to say we got exactly what we expected from Corey Conners this week. He had some brilliant moments with his irons. He hit a huge clutch putt to close out the Americans at four apiece on Saturday afternoon. That was the good.
He also lost nearly six shots to the field with his putter over the course of the week and won shorties a few times in his singles loss to Justin Thomas.
Sure, Thomas is the heart of the US side. But the Internationals needed a typically good week from Conners if they were to get over the hump. This week was not like that.
Jackson Koivun: A+
This was an all-upside week for the youngest player on the American side. Play a few games, get your feet wet. Whether things went well or badly, everything about Koivun’s performance could be chalked up to a learning experience for a vitally important piece of the United States’ competitive future.
well, Koivun on the other hand looked like a superstar“carrying” his teammate Justin Thomas (in Thomas’ own account) in a four-ball victory on Saturday morning that kept the competition close – then delivering the most clutchest moment of the tournament on Sunday afternoon, when he held off Si Woo Kim to hand the United States one of the clinching points on the US side.
In Chicago, Koivun played a crucial role for the Americans … and wrote his name on the list for the next fall in Ireland.
Jacob Bridgeman: C
Earned his way onto the team over JJ Spaun (among others), and enjoyed a great moment when he officially won the US victory on Sunday night, but he didn’t exactly stamp his name on future Ryder Cup teams with a 0-2-0 performance in foursomes.
Chris Gotterup: A-
He earned his way onto the team over JJ Spaun (among others) with a first-season promotion on the PGA Tour, and done stamp his name on future Ryder Cup teams, assuming his game holds up. Gotterup looked like the type of player the United States has been missing in recent years in these competitions – a real glue guy with a real sense of the moment.
Si Woo Kim: B+
Of course, big enough for now. Certainly a more complete and formidable competitor than he has been in past Presidents Cups. He was the third best player in the field by DataGolf’s strokes gained rankings. The only one true blemish lost the tournament game to Koivun on Sunday afternoon.
Justin Thomas: B+
Able to regularly win in a team event with his D- stuff. He may not always be pretty, but Thomas is the epitome of a gamer. The golf gods rewarded him this weekend.
Geoff Ogilvy: B+
He received much of a group with a severe talent deficit, but the same problems that plagued the Internationals in previous Cups came back to bite in Chicago. Any strategy for Australia in two years’ time (where Ogilvy would be a formidable captain in a repeat role) would have to start by sorting out the singles game.
Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott and Ryan Fox: B-
Three astute vets who were all expected to lead this international side when the temperature rose at the weekend. Unfortunately, three crafty vets also suffered losses in singles Sunday afternoon to give the US three decisive points.
Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay: B+
The best example of US partner strategy that really works. Cantlay and Schauffele battled through losses in four-ball and foursomes on Friday and Saturday, then showed up in massive fashion Sunday night with the Cup on the line. Cantlay’s 57-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole on Sunday in particular was the kind of self-conscious behavior that has become commonplace for him in this environment.
Wyndham Clark: C
A lie all weekend and one of the team’s best statistical players, but his Cup finished at 1-4-0. If the U.S. needs to lean on him in future team events, he’s shown he can bring his game. The question remains: will the victories follow?
Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Ryo Hisatsune, Min Woo Lee: B-
A few strong moments, a few strong wins, but ultimately this group will be remembered for losing three massive singles matches on Sunday afternoon as the American comeback roared.
Nick Taylor: A-
She was left out of the Canadian team in Montreal in 2024 for extremely dubious reasons. He played in his first Cup this weekend and showed exactly why that decision was a mistake. On Sunday night he grinded out a gritty and scrappy half to go along with two wins in foursomes sessions. Something tells me he won’t be left out of the team in Australia in two years.
Collin Morikawa: B
A week of ups and downs that ended on a high with a big win in singles. Morikawa hasn’t always been the top-5 player he once seemed destined to become, but he’s shown he can be an asset to the US team.
Russell Henley: C
Russell Henley wrestled at the Ryder Cup in Bethpage last fall. He wrestled again in an alternate shot at the Presidents Cup. He has the benefit of the doubt for playing almost exclusively in a session in which the United States were resoundingly destroyed, but a win in his singles match on Sunday would have made it a little easier.