2026 Presidents Cup - Sunday

I've been a bit negative this afternoon, probably because I'm still mad about Bethpage. But that was a great event and a great comeback! So here are a few things I'm feeling good about:

• Chris Gotterup and Jackson Koivun. Among the few bright spots for the U.S. team Thur-Sat, and got it done today. Positive, confident vibes emanating from both.

• The Koreans. Wonderful personalities and entertaining styles of golf. Hope Tom Kim gets his military exemption at the Asian Games this coming week.

• Medinah itself. It was terrific.

• Kingston Heath is up next. Even better.

An objectively hilarious thing to say when you haven't won a Ryder Cup since 2021 or an away Ryder Cup since before the Presidents Cup existed

Brandt Snedeker to Cara Banks after comeback was official.

I think these guys never lost faith. I know what that team room is like. I told the guys last night that funny stuff happens here. Medinah has a history of funny things happening. Sure enough, they went out and played their asses off today. I'm so damn proud of those guys.

I cannot get over what Jackson Koivun did today. I put him in a really tough spot out there. We thought he could handle it. Sure enough, he did. He went out there and looked like the stud we know he's going to be. So damn proud of Jacob Bridgeman getting his first point as a Presidents Cup rookie.

All these guys fought for each other, fought for this country, fought for this team. And 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. Thank you, President Trump.

Singles was always going to be a big, big challenge for the Internationals...

My five year old daughter is so perceptive. She just asked me, “Dad, is the random collection of 12 individuals who all dressed alike going to beat the black team?”

Jackson Koivun just gave us what's been missing from these team golf events for a while. Clearly not carrying the same baggage as the other guys.

The Koivun dice roll looks smart now, but it's gonna look even smarter next year. Getting him experience in a MEANINGFUL Presidents Cup? Home Run. Snedeker made a lot of decisions you can be critical of, but taking a risk and bringing Koivun may benefit them for years to come.

Chris Gotterup on his first Presidents Cup experience:

"This is by far the most nervous, fun, pressure-packed environment that I've ever been a part of. I didn't feel like I had my best stuff this week and getting thrown into this without your A game is stressful, but I felt like I handled it really well.

"We just have a great team and a lot of guys that believe in each other and hopefully we can pull this one out."

The Internationals getting nothing from Adam Scott, Foxy, Min Woo, and now Si Woo pissing away his lead to Koivun is an abject disaster. This is the back half of the lineup that was supposed to do some work getting to five points on the day.

Sneds for Ryder Cup captain?

Corey Conners putting today 😳

Scottie Scheffler's Strange (Redemptive?) Week

I don't know if words can properly capture what an up-and-down week it was for Scheffler despite going 3-1. I'm sure it will be framed as a redemptive one, particularly if the U.S. hangs on to win, but that certainly doesn't tell the whole story.

For all the angst about trying to find him a partner in these events, the United States still isn't any closer to finding someone who will bring out the best in him in either foursomes or fourball. At one point, Scheffler had just one birdie in 25 holes of fourball, the kind of stretch you'd never see outside a U.S. Open. His play was so uninspired, he sat in foursomes for the first time, a baffling strategy decision by Brandt Snedeker that Scheffler must have been on board with. That too speaks to where Scheffler's head must have been. One of the most competitive people alive felt he'd be better off resting and resetting than going back out on Saturday.

And yet, it kind of worked as Scheffler played much better on Sunday, dispatching Nico Echavarria with relative ease for his first singles victory. He also demonstrated that some things are more important to him that ruthless competition, giving Echavarria a 30-foot par putt on the 14th hole after an American fan yelled during Echavarria's backswing on his approach. The gesture extended the match a bit longer than Scheffler might have liked when Echavarria birdied the 15th, but the match was never truly in doubt.

Scheffler was clearly agitated by what happened, and that continued when he was asked about the incident by Golf Channel's Cara Banks after closing out the win.

"I don't even really want to talk about it," he said. "There is really no place for it. We'll just leave it at that."

He also continued his role as occasional Media Ombudsman, snapping at Banks a little bit when she pressed him, pretty innocuously, on how he felt about sitting out foursomes on Sunday.

"I mean, do you want to talk about today's match?" he said. "I just played some golf out there, you want to talk about that?"

An interesting week overall. Some good vibes, some weird ones for the best player on earth.

Either way, we're onto Adare Manor, I suppose.

Morikawa from 30 feet ✅

Matsuyama from 4 feet ❌

No International leads currently on the course.

Our standards have been so degraded that the constant "get in the water/bunker" shouting has become regular fare heckling and the lesser of evils (there are many worse alternatives heard last year at Bethpage) from the crowd at these cup matches. Thanks Bethpage!

Beau, next year can we add a "re-blog" button.

What is the path remaining for the Internationals?

Going to put on my Steve Kornacki hat here and start tabulating electoral votes. What is the most viable path remaining for the Internationals? They need four more points.

Let's start with the obvious...

-Need Sungjae Im to hang on and win his match against Burns. Outcome likely.

-Need Hideki to somehow win that match against Collin Morikawa. He's 1-up. Let's go ahead and give them his point for the sake of argument.

-Need Si Woo Kim to hold his 2-up lead against Koivun. Seems likely.

But... you still need one more point.

Which match are you most likely to get it from?

-Adam Scott flipping that 2-down match against Cantlay? Doesn't feel likely.

-Ryan Fox flipping that 2-down match against Xander? Doesn't feel likely.

So we have two matches that likely decide the fate of the Internationals.

Min Woo Lee vs. Jacob Bridgeman (Lee is 1-down)

Nick Taylor vs. Russell Henley (Tied)

Will Nick Taylor end up with the whole Cup on his shoulders? Also a good chance for Russell to redeem himself for what happened at Bethpage when he left two putts short down the stretch that literally could have won the Ryder Cup.

For a tournament that rightfully so had some existential questions entering the week, I find it interesting how good and bad the product of the Presidents Cup can be. Royal Melbourne in 2019 was electric and this week, despite the broadcast’s efforts, has been really great. I won’t argue that Medinah #3 and Royal Melbourne are on the same level but team golf at great courses really hits.

Congrats to Scottie Scheffler on locking up the Good Guy Gerry award 👏

The 15th hole, the opener for member play, has given the players trouble all week. Most of the pins have been right behind the bunker or all the way to the back, with players really struggling to control their distance and frequently dumping it in the front bunkers or bailing out long right. I saw Mike Cocking on Friday who noted its redan-like nature as most players continued to try and fly it to the pin. So it's a little bit of a bummer to see a front right pin and players just flipping wedges (Wyndy, Tom Kim just now) in tight on a hole that will be at some of the more tense moments of the session. The short-hitting Tom Kim had just 92 yards into the hole. I get that they have to vary up the pins but I would have just liked to have seen a more challenging wedge shot here late in the matches.

Greenside bunker on the first/15th for Presidents Cup at Medinah #3 (Fried Egg Golf)

Tom Kim Appreciation

I haven't always been the biggest fan of Tom Kim's game. He was heralded as the Next Big Thing with a skill set that didn't necessarily suggest an elite ceiling. At times, he's walked around like he's the best player in the world without a resume to back it up. And he plays at a glacial pace.

But I'm growing to appreciate Tom Kim, especially in light of this week.

In talking to some folks around the International locker room, they heaped praise on Kim's maturity and readiness to play this week. It sounds like that hasn't always necessarily been the case.

One particular Tom Kim moment from this week will stick with me.

After one of their matches, I asked Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim how conceding putts works when they're paired together. Who is responsible for giving the putts? Do they have any rules?

Si Woo didn't comprehend the question and started answering how they read putts together. Tom addressed Si Woo and clarified the question in Korean.

Then Si Woo attempted to answer, getting the translation wrong once again.

Tom maturely and kindly corrected Si Woo again. Si Woo was a little embarrassed, but Tom handled the interaction extremely maturely and then just fielded the question himself as the two of them laughed. He took a slightly uncomfortable moment into his own hands and helped Si Woo without making him feel stupid on stage.

Currently, Tom looks like he may be the only International in the front half of the lineup to go out an earn a point. He'll then get on a plane and head to the Asian Games, where he has a chance to earn a waiver and exempt himself from mandatory military service in South Korea.

Respect to Tom for playing a wonderful round of golf so far this morning against a fierce opponent in Wyndham Clark, when he probably has a lot on his mind.

It seems like the 24-year-old has matured quite a bit. And he's a heck of a player.

This is easy to say in retrospect, but I hate Ogilvy's singles lineup. Throwing Connors and Echavarria AND Hisatsune at the top of the lineup feels like a huge error. It should have been both Kims and Adam Scott and Hideki in the first four spots. Go all in early. If you wanted to save Fox for late in the line-up, great. But having three of your worst players out early, when you know America had to Load the Boat, and then they are predictably sent to slaughter feels like a big whiff.

Looking forward to tonight's SGS for many reasons, but at the forefront may be Brendan's McGinley impression.

I can't stop saying "the game," "compounding," "put 'em on the back foot." Wife probably thinks I'm going crazy over here.

Three of the first four matches are pretty under the Americans' control. Starting to look increasingly likely this one will come down to the wire. Si Woo Kim and Ryan Fox are the Internationals' best hopes on the back half of the lineup.

We're set up for some consequential matches coming down to the wire.

Besides the obvious of an actual point at stake, feels like the winner in the Clark-Tom Kim match could provide a big momentum swing for their side as well.

The anti-JT crowd is going to be very triggered by him adding another point to his -- overall -- very impressive team match play resume and record. He's doing it by zipping up Corey Conners with pars. But he will dance in the end zone regardless.

Conners has been awful. One of the minor miracles or quirks of this cup will be that somehow Conners played all five sessions, including a two-man win over Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns and that knee-knocking putt to preserve the win over Henley and Bridgeman last on Saturday. He's not been very good and is not good again today but the Internationals have made it work about as much as you can across four days.

“This week is all about trusting your teammates and finding that winning combination, so squad up with DraftKings and make every moment at Medinah mean more.”

An extremely cursed phrase. "Squadding up" with DraftKings is some of the saddest shit I have ever heard. Put your phone down and go make a friend.

Just heard on the telecast: "This is some of the best sand to hit out of. When you get in these bunkers, clean lies, and you feel like you can control it."

Intended as a compliment, should be understood as a critique.

Young vs. Hisatsune provided a good example of how tricky the tee shot on the fourth hole is. Both pushed up to the well-protected, diagonal landing zone past the dogleg. Hisatsune ended up just short of the bunker on the right, and had a pretty good look at the pin (though his approach ended up being so-so). Young didn't quite match line and distance, ran through to the rough, and faced a very, very difficult wedge, which he left short.

Great hole that works against pros' instincts to get as close to the green as possible off the tee.

American Team Golf Is in Crisis Regardless of Today’s Outcome

There is a very good chance the United States pulls it out today. They’re going to have a partisan crowd behind them, and they’re usually great in singles. Pride will kick in and they’re going to be tough to truly knock off.

Even if they come back and win, that should not change the takeaways that ought to emerge from this event.

The United States whole approach to team golf feels broken.

Whatever this is, it’s not working.

We can criticize the decision makers, and there will plenty of opportunities for that, but at some point this has to fall at the feet of the players. They are the ones who are underperforming, the ones who keep asking for concessions and tweaks to the U.S. team-building approach and then coming up small when it matters.

Scottie Scheffler has gotten a bit of a pass for his consistent underwhelming performances in these events. I was one of those people willing to make excuses for him, assuming it was a bad draw, or a statistical anomaly, and eventually things would course correct. But I’m coming around to the idea that giving him a pass is embarrassing in its own right. Your match play record is an important part of your legacy, and the fact that Tiger Woods never felt comfortable with this stuff as a player shouldn’t mean we just write it off that Scheffler deserves the same pass.

We keep hearing that the U.S. will play up to their potential if they can just get the right captain, the right course set up, the right strategy, if they can play with their best buds, if they can just have the crowd behind them. If they could just make more putts.

But the same failures keep repeating. At what point do the excuses die away and the Americans realize their inability to win without everything breaking their way is kind of embarrassing? That the rest of the world looks at us and sees a bunch of whiny dudes? Instead of being motivated by adversity, they have become crippled by it.

We’ve said a lot in the build up to this Presidents Cup that the best case scenario for the event would be for the International team to win. But I am also convinced it would be the best case scenario for the U.S., long term. In a two year span, the Americans will have lost a Ryder Cup at home and a Presidents Cup. The tide has changed and the collective cluelessness and lack of focus can no longer be brushed away.

It’s much bigger than “they just made more putts.” It’s about coming to grips with the idea that all these excuses are the only consistent strategy the Americans have going for them.

It can be hard to discern how much captains actually matter in these team competitions. We typically know who the bad captains are more than the good ones in the postmortem reviews and bloodletting. We use results as proof of process or good captaining. But with that ambiguity about the impact of the role, one thing is clear: the guys who struggle at the mic, and talk too much, are the ones that expose themselves and quickly fall out of favor. The two most obvious recent examples are Zach Johnson and now Brandt Snedeker, who may or may not be bright, but does seem to struggle at the mic and has no one there guiding him while he's out on the plank. He was unimpressive again with Cara at the open today. It's a "data point" you have in how the role is evaluated.

Luke Donald would be the extreme opposite of this, staying deliberate, unemotional, and calculated with his words. I am not saying if you struggle with words, or to explain yourself, or ramble on the mic, you're a bad captain. But with some ambiguity, it runs you out there on the limb and Sneds continues to reveal himself as rough leader this week.

A lot of talk about the struggles in foursomes for the Americans, but really think we should be talking more about the fouromes issues.

I do not understand Snedeker deciding to self-flagellate while the competition is still ongoing. What kind of tone is that supposed to set?

"Obviously with messaging with these guys, I haven't been clear enough with them."

- Brandt Snedeker when asked about the mistakes he alluded to last night

Besides Scheffler vs. Echavarria, which singles match are you most excited to watch today?

Good morning. I'm excited for today. Read Andy's post below for a more thorough breakdown of some questionable captaining decisions from Brandt Snedeker.

But I just came here to say that it was insane to bench the best player in the world for yesterday's foursomes session and I don't care what his foursomes record is. Anyone who has talked themselves into that being the right move has lost the plot.

As I watched Keegan Bradley play a surprisingly prominent role in choosing singles match-ups last night, I was reminded that there has never been a public accounting of what went wrong at Bethpage. Were the U.S. team's data guys, who got ejected from the task force a few months ago, somehow at fault? Or did Keegan just ignore them?

Anyway, seems like we're just running it back this year. Hope we make some putts today, I guess!

Presidents Cup Sunday is here. Before we see if the Americans can mount a comeback or the Internationals can hold on for the massive upset, I highly suggest you watch this video from Garrett on why OCM's resdesign of the Lake Kadijah holes works so well at Medinah No. 3 ⬇️

https://x.com/fried_egg_golf/status/2104213619093168594?s=20