U.S. storms back to win 2026 Presidents Cup after Sunday singles rally at Medinah - Golfweek

MEDINAH, IL – The United States mounted the largest final day comeback on Sunday to win the Presidents Cup over the International Team for the 11th straight time.

The Americans bailed out Brandt Snedeker, who bemoaned “all his mistakes” as captain that had left his team facing a three-point deficit heading into the 12 singles matches on Sunday and just the third time a team has triumphed after trailing going into the final session.

"I just told the guys last night, I know what this place does. I've been where that other team is over there," said Snedeker, who was part of the 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup team at Medinah No. 3 that blew a 10-6 lead entering Sunday. "When those pairings came out last night, it was the first time I got them right all week."

Indeed, he did. The U.S. won nine matches and tied another and the seven-point differential in singles marked the largest singles point differential in Presidents Cup history. In the final seven singles matches on Sunday, the U.S. Team went 6-0-1 with five of the matches going to the 18th hole.

Cameron Young went out first and secured the first point of the day with a 3-and-2 win over Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune. The match was tied through 10 holes before Young won the next three in a row to pull away.

Scottie Scheffler needed to go a couple extra holes after conceding a 32-foot par putt to his opponent Nico Echavarria, who was distracted by a fan yelling during his backswing.

“It's just ridiculous, somebody yelling in his swing off the tee. There's absolutely no place for that,” Scheffler said. “You should get 30 seconds to a minute when you're over the ball or getting ready to hit your shot where there's some silence, and it's just frustrating.”

Scheffler, the world No. 1, also recorded his best record at either a Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup, going 3-1 overall for the week after sitting on Saturday afternoon during a foursomes session.

American Justin Thomas won the most lopsided math of the day, winning five of the first six holes, en route to a 5-and-3 win, and his first Presidents Cup singles win after three previous losses.

“Just wanted to go out and do my job and get a point,” he said.

The International Team earned victories from South Korea’s Tom Kim in the second match of the day, 3 and 2 over Wyndham Clark, and his countryman Sungjae Im downed Sam Burns 3 and 1. But that was the only gold on the scoreboard for captain Geoff Ogilvy’s team despite back-loading his singles lineup.

"I’m incredibly proud of my team,” Ogilvy said. “They came to play. It’s a very difficult thing to do to beat the U.S. in singles in the U.S., but we gave it a crack.”

Patrick Cantlay canned a 57-foot birdie putt at 16 to stymie a comeback effort by 46-year-old Australian Adam Scott, who has been part of all 11 losses by the International side. Cantlay earned a full point with a 2-and-1 win.

Chris Gotterup had to go the distance but edged South Africa’s Christiian Bezuidenhout 1 up. 

"This is by far and away the most nervous, most fun, pressure-packed environment that I've ever been a part of," he said.

Jackson Koivun, the 21-year-old Presidents Cup rookie, echoed that sentiment. He won Nos. 12, 13 and 15 to upend the International Team’s top player this week, Si Woo Kim, 2 up. With a record of 2-0-1 in his three matches, he was the lone competitor without a defeat.

America’s Collin Morikawa trailed Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama most of the day but flipped his match with wins at No. 15 — he holed a 30-footer and Matsuyama missed a 5-footer — and No. 18 for a 1-up victory.

"It was huge, and I knew where it stood," he said of the match.

American Xander Schauffele was saved for the anchor match and came through in flying colors with a 2-and-1 victory over British Open champion Ryan Fox.

Jacob Bridgeman made par at the last to defeat Australia’s Min Woo Lee 1 up to officially earn the point that clinched the Cup for the Americans.

"I heard someone in the crowd say, 'You're the best putter in the world.' I was standing over a four-footer and I'm like, 'this is cake. This is so easy.' I'm just so proud I could put it away for the team," Bridgeman said.

The International surged in front on Friday by sweeping five foursomes matches to take a 7-3 lead. The U.S. clawed back on Saturday but the International Team weathered the storm to hold its first lead — 10 1/2 to 7 1/2 — heading into singles since the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia. U.S. vice captain Jim Furyk, who will lead the American side at the 2027 Ryder Cup, is now officially on the clock as the next U.S. captain but wanted to savor this victory first.

"I really want them to enjoy what they did today because it's pretty darn special," he said. "We've made some good runs on Sunday, but it's hard to really get them over the hump and actually finish it off, and these guys finished it off like I've never seen before. I'm proud of them."

U.S. President Donald Trump, the honorary chairman this week, attended the biennial competition Sunday. He made some brief remarks, joking he was not brave enough to subject the crowd to a speech, then jabbed at the "fake news media," whom he joked would report he received a poor reception, before posing for pictures. Trump hung out on the first tee, shaking hands with all 24 competitors ahead of their opening tee shots and later congratulated the Americans at the trophy ceremony.

"One last shout out to Donald Trump, President Trump. He told me I was going to bring some energy today for you guys, you guys need it, and I told him if we did this, he gets all the credit," Snedeker said. "Thank you, President Trump."

Adam Schupak is a Golfweek senior writer covering the PGA Tour and the Presidents Cup.