The 2026 Presidents Cup is set to begin on Thursday at Medinah Country Club just outside Chicago, where the United States will look to continue its dominance over the event. The U.S. team has won 13 of the previous 15 Presidents Cups, including 10 in a row coming into this year, and the Americans are once again the heavy favorites to lift the cup. On the other side, the International squad faces an uphill battle as it looks to pull off the upset to win its second Presidents Cup -- first on American soil.
While the U.S. side looks far stronger on paper, it faces plenty of pressure to live up to those expectations. Anything less than a comfortable victory will be seen as a letdown for captain Brandt Snedeker's group, and some of the stars on the U.S. team are desperate to prove themselves in team competition after last year's struggle at the Ryder Cup. No one faces higher expectations than Scottie Scheffler.
The world No. 1 has a poor record in team competitions, including a 3-5-1 mark at the Presidents Cup. Perhaps most surprising is Scheffler's 0-2-0 record in singles matches, and with questions about his ability to be the dominant force the United States needs, he will want to show out at Medinah this week. The International side, meanwhile, is just looking to find its footing in the event, particularly on U.S. soil.
It has lost by at least three points in every road Presidents Cup since 1996 (one-point loss), and the Internationals are on the heels of back-to-back lopsided defeats. Captain Geoff Ogilvy will need his top players to be at their absolute best and someone to break out as an unexpected hero to pull off a shocker at Medinah, but the magic of sports is that's always a possibility. The Presidents Cup features five match sessions over four days of competition, providing an additional day of play compared to the Ryder Cup, which packs four sessions into the first two days.
The first two sessions will feature five matches with Snedeker opting to begin with four-ball on Thursday and then play foursomes on Friday. Saturday is broken up into a morning and afternoon session with four matches in each, starting with four-ball and concluding with foursomes. Sunday brings the event to a close with 12 singles matches with it all adding up to 30 points -- two more than the Ryder Cup -- to determine a winner.
Four-ball: Two-man teams representing each side square off against one another. Each of the four golfers plays their own ball, and the lowest score between the two players for each team counts for the hole. The two scores not chosen get thrown out.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
