Presidents Cup begins at Medinah as US eyes continued dominance
The 2026 Presidents Cup gets underway this week at Medinah Country Club near Chicago, with the United States looking to extend its long unbeaten run against an International team led for the first time by Australian captain Geoff Ogilvy.
What's happening
This week's Presidents Cup, a biennial team golf event pitting the United States against a squad of the world's best players from outside Europe, is being played at Medinah Country Club's Course No. 3 outside Chicago. According to GOLF.com, the event begins Thursday, though Fox Sports references broadcast dates of September 25-28 — a discrepancy between the sources over the exact schedule.
The US has dominated the competition historically. GOLF.com reports the Americans are chasing an 11th consecutive win with an all-time record of 13-1-1, while PGA Tour's own coverage describes a 10-game winning streak. The only non-win for the US came in a 2002 tie in South Africa, when darkness halted play with the score level.
Teams and captains
Leading the International team for the first time is Australian Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 US Open champion, who previously served as a captain's assistant across four Presidents Cups. His course-design firm, OCM Golf, also redesigned Medinah's No. 3 layout for this year's event. A win would make Ogilvy only the second Australian, after Peter Thomson, to captain a winning team in the competition.
The International Team's 12-man roster, representing seven countries, includes Adam Scott, playing in his 12th Presidents Cup without a title yet; Si Woo Kim; Tom Kim; Hideki Matsuyama; rookie Ryan Fox, this year's Open Championship winner at Royal Birkdale; Min Woo Lee; Corey Conners; and Nico Echavarria. Per Fox Sports, the US squad, captained by Brandt Snedeker, includes seven of the world's top 10 ranked players, among them world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Format and outlook
Thirty points are contested over four days: four-ball and foursomes sessions Thursday and Friday, both formats again Saturday, and 12 singles matches on Sunday. Fox Sports notes that Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy has publicly said he hopes the Internationals can pull off an upset, following recent European wins in other team events. Still, GOLF.com writers note that without players who moved to LIV Golf and without the injured Jason Day, the International team's path to victory looks narrow.
