Presidents Cup Preview: US Chase 11th Straight Win at Medinah
The 16th Presidents Cup gets under way at Medinah Country Club on Thursday, with the United States attempting to extend a run of dominance that stretches back more than two decades.
The Americans have won the last ten editions. The International Team's only victory came in 1998 at Royal Melbourne, the course where their captain Geoff Ogilvy grew up.
A Gulf on Paper
The rankings suggest another difficult week for the visitors. Brandt Snedeker's US team contains seven of the world's top ten players and ten inside the top 25, with only Jackson Koivun and Patrick Cantlay outside that bracket.
The International side has two players inside the top 25, Si Woo Kim and Ryan Fox. Kim, making his fourth appearance, is the only member of the team ranked inside the top 20.
The US line-up is built around world number one Scottie Scheffler, who won the Tour Championship last month to claim his second FedEx Cup and pass Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour's all-time money list. Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Henley and Collin Morikawa also qualified automatically.
Snedeker used his six picks on Chris Gotterup, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Cantlay, Jacob Bridgeman and Koivun. The 21-year-old Koivun, who won in only his third start as a professional, was 48th on the points list.
Snedeker explained his choice of Gotterup, a three-time winner this season, in strong terms. "He is fearless," he said. "He embraces big stages and has showed he can contend against the best players in the world."
Koivun, Gotterup and Bridgeman are the three American rookies. Several players who qualified higher on the points list were left out, including Ben Griffin and JJ Spaun, who responded to his omission by winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on Sunday.
Experience and New Faces for the Internationals
Ogilvy's team combines three major champions with four debutants. Fox, the reigning Open champion after his win at Royal Birkdale, makes his first appearance at 39, alongside Nico Echavarria, Ryo Hisatsune and Nick Taylor.
Adam Scott, who shared second at Wentworth on Sunday, makes a 12th appearance, more than any other International player. Despite that record, he has never been on a winning side. Hideki Matsuyama plays in his seventh consecutive edition. Min Woo Lee and Tom Kim were the other automatic qualifiers.
Ogilvy's picks were Corey Conners, Echavarria, Sungjae Im, Hisatsune, Taylor and Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Jason Day, 11th on the points list, was not selected.
The captain has a particular connection to the venue, having helped with the redesign of Medinah's No. 3 course, which plays as a par 70.
Motivation After Bethpage
A significant portion of the American team was part of the side beaten at home in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black last autumn, a defeat that gives this week an added edge for the hosts.
The US won the most recent Presidents Cup 18.5-11.5 in Montreal in 2024.
Snedeker's assistants are Gary Woodland, Jim Furyk, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson. Ogilvy is supported by Tim Clark, Trevor Immelman, Taylor Pendrith and Camilo Villegas.
Play runs from Thursday to Sunday, with the opening session pairings due to be announced on Wednesday.
