Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they delve into the hottest topics in sports, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss The victory of the return of the United States in the Cup of the Presidentsthe MVP for both sides and what this boyk lead the Americans to the Ryder Cup.
The United States was trailing by three points heading into Sunday’s Presidents Cup, but came back to win nine singles matches and tied another to claim the Cup, 17-13, for his 11th straight win in this event. What was more impressive: the game of the Internationals on the first two days, or the game of the Americans on the third and last day?
James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): The International performance to start the Cup sticks with me much longer than the American performance to save it. Every conceivable indicator told us that this iteration of the event was more lopsided than any of the (rather lopsided!) versions we’ve seen in the last half decade. Instead, the INT gave the Americans all they could handle.
Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): I agree. The team game has a way of somehow hiding the weaknesses – or, perhaps, in the case of the Americans – exposing them. But when you find singles, and those partner dynamics are stripped away, you’re left with talent and experience that went head-to-head. There was nothing shocking about the return to the United States. It was just a little surprising that they were down until they headed into the final day.
Dylan Dethier, Senior Writer (dylan_dethier): The return of the United States stays with me because of its sheer force. When the red wave finally cleared everything that was in its way, crashing on each of these last seven games, which each one did to 17, but gave only one bet and six losses for the International team. Honestly, it was incredibly impressive, but also a little deflating – there was so much heart to the International team’s team play performance that it was a little painful to see them go out in such a tragic way.
Who is your MVP for each part?
Hanging: Cam Young quickly develops into a serial killer in these team settings. With Bethpage last year, it’s two straight events where he’s been the best player by a few miles on the US side. Sungjae Im was equally brilliant for INT, delivering a rare Black Flag on Sunday when they needed it most.
Senses: The young man was the step, to be sure. But I argued that Jackson Koivun came up even bigger in the rare match (against Si Woo Kim) in which the Internationals had the advantage on paper. If Kim had gone on to win that point, a couple of the other closing matches – I think, in particular, of Russell Henley against Nick Taylor, and Jacob Bridgeman against Min Woo Lee – would have taken on a different atmospheric pressure, with potentially different results.
Dethier: Tom Kim was the only man to pick up four points on the week and is my International MVP, especially after a tough Sunday showing against Wyndham Clark. Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup are co-MVPs on the American side; when they finally came together on Saturday, they kept Team USA in it.
U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker dished out a lot more on second-guessing (including by himself!) than the International Captain Geoff Ogilvy – and still came out on top. What was your assessment of how the American employer handled its duties?
Hanging: Uhhh, bad. He had a massive talent advantage on home soil and pulled off a narrow enough win that seemed to be operating with little plan or larger strategy. Just because he wins doesn’t make him a “winning” captain.
Senses: I think it’s easy to guess, but the part sitting the best player in the world on Saturday afternoon, I’m not sure that anything he did would have had different results. We see this more and more from the Americans – they are weaker in team play than in singles. In addition to this, the Internationals had an exceptional game in those partners in the list.
Dethier: The losing captain always takes too much flak in these things, and so I felt for Snedeker on Saturday night even though I disagreed with a couple of his decisions. But ultimately, it’s a results-oriented position, and Team USA won by four, so whatever Snedeker did before Sunday’s singles certainly worked.
The United States’ singles play was dominant, but the team continues to struggle in foursomes, a format in which they went 2-7 this week, dropping their combined foursomes record in Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups since 2023 to 8-26. What’s going on here?
Hanging: I spent some time looking into the numbers behind this yesterday, and the answer is that Americans don’t show up ready to play in the format. In 18 open quarter-session games since 2023, the Americans are 1-17. Of those 18 games, they trailed after 6 holes 15 times. To me, that reflects a total lack of preparation. You can’t wait for the event to start to “turn it on”. You can’t expect players to “feel for their partner”. When you do that, you’re already in a hole.
Senses: I think James’ answer points in part to the deeper reason. If it is in fact a lack of preparation for the game of the initial partners, it does not suggest that the stereotype is true: that Americans are more individualistic, more comfortable on their own, less inspired by collective action. I know it seems cliche to the point of being lazy to repeat that old saw. But I still don’t see much evidence that it isn’t true.
Dethier: You might assume that some of these stereotypes—about Americans playing well on their own ball, but noticeably worse when they have to turn—would be statistical noise. But this week it seemed exaggerated on both fronts; the foursomes went miserably and the singles went beyond their wildest dreams. There’s obviously some randomness involved, but there’s also enough of a trend line that I offer next year’s Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk this special piece of advice: Make sure your guys practice an alternate shot!
Match play, especially in such a high-pressure scene, reveals the character of the players in a way that stroke play does not. What’s one thing you learned or saw in one of the 24 players this week that you didn’t know before the event?
Hanging: I learned that Jackson Koivun has the “it” factor in big moments. He was arguably the most important point all day for the Americans, and arguably the least experienced player on the field. Kudos to him for shutting it down when it counted.
Senses: Koivun is a good call. Another narrative sequence was see Scottie Scheffler concedes what would have been an almost impossible par for his opponent, Nico Echavarria, after Echavarria had been heckled during his downswing on the tee. And then, moments later, seeing Wyndham Clark miss a slam-dunk two-putt to his opponent, Tom Kim, which ended the match. Of course, they were different scenarios. But in terms of image-building, this underscored the public perception of Scheffler as a sporting gentleman, and Clark as, well, a little harder to please. Even the NBC announcers, who seemed allergic to saying anything even remotely critical all week, called Clark’s decision odd.
Dethier: It’s about his golf game rather than his moral fiber, but still: If we were to draft golfers for a team, I think I’d take Cameron Young first. She was an absolute force this weekend and her ton defeat in the first singles match showed a sign of things to come.
The 2027 Ryder Cup is less than a year away. Did this week make you feel better or worse about the USA’s chances against Europe at Adare Manor in Ireland next September?
Hanging: Worse. It showed me that Americans talk a lot about “changing things”, but have little to show for it in the environment where they are worst: foursomes. Until we see some actual evidence of a change in leadership, I predict that America’s coup d’état woes will continue.
Senses: I wouldn’t say I feel better about America’s chances, but that doesn’t mean I feel worse overall. I think it’s generally better for the Ryder Cup when the US is struggling and slipping into an existential crisis. It adds more fuel to the rivalry and makes for a more exciting build-up and competition, while drawing water on the irritating assumption – which persists despite what has happened in the last decade plus – that the United States is somehow exceptional and entitled to win.
Dethier: Better, I say. These past two years have shown that, whatever their shortcomings in team play, these Americans work well enough on their own that no guide is insurmountable. I wouldn’t recommend digging that deep a hole again, but they’ll never feel left out of the competition regardless of the score.