2026 Presidents Cup Grades

This year at Medinah might have been the International Team’s only shot at winning the Presidents Cup. They did so much right this week, but still came up short. What if they don't get another chance like this? It's a tough one to swallow, one that veteran Adam Scott might lament the most. Who knows if he'll be on the team two years from now back in Australia. Then again, maybe he'll be the captain.

Anyway, it's time to hand out some grades. 

Internationals

‍Geoff Ogilvy: A 

More concerned with winning than the fanfare surrounding the event, Geoff Ogilvy served admirably in his role. Heading into Sunday, his overmatched team had a three-point lead and was on the verge of pulling off one of the biggest upsets in golf history. Instead, they all fly home reeling in the pain of a nearly miraculous victory. Regardless, Ogilvy’s captaincy should be remembered as a success, and the Internationals would be well-served to appoint him again in the future. 

Tom Kim: A+

Tom Kim really came onto the global stage at this event in 2022. There was a dip afterwards, both in his game and public reception, but this summer, and this cup, have been a total re-flip of the script in terms of clutch play and rootability for Kim. He was an absolute lion this week, going 4-1-0.

Ryo Hisatsune: B+

This was a great rookie week for Ryo Hisatsune, who was overwhelmed by Cameron Young in Sunday singles but definitely proved himself worthy of the stage in every match. Also, he partnered well with Hideki Matsuyama, who finally had a fellow Japanese player on the team. 

Nick Taylor: B+

Nick Taylor made it look even worse that he was left off the team for his home cup in 2024. He was far from a world beater, but played four sessions, delivered two points, and hit one of the shots of the week into 18 to salvage a match. This was much more than expected.

Sungjae Im: B+

Sungjae Im hit the ball better than anyone outside of Cameron Young. Was on the wrong end of a 6-and-4 thrashing in Saturday foursomes, but a lot of that fell on his partner, Adam Scott. Im was otherwise excellent and was one of the only International players who showed up for Sunday singles, thumping Wyndham Clark, 3 and 2. 

Ryan Fox: B

Yes, Ryan Fox was technically a rookie, but after such a clutch performance down the stretch in the Open Championship, it was disappointing he wasn’t really competitive in Sunday singles against Xander Schauffele. Still, Foxy did put his squad in position with wins in two foursomes matches. Would have been nice if he’d putted just a bit better. 

Si Woo Kim: B

The Internationals’ best player certainly looked the part for the first three sessions, but he ran out of steam on the second 18 on Saturday and allowed the Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay pairing an opportunity for some redemption. A key cog in the backloaded Sunday singles lineup, Kim led for 10 consecutive holes before letting go of the rope on 12 against 21-year-old Jackson Koivun. A solid week, but if the Shield ever wants to pull out a win, they’ll almost certainly need a singles win from their ace.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout: C+

Christiaan Bezuidenhout only played twice, so it’s hard to be too critical here. He and Adam Scott combined to make five birdies in their foursomes win over Justin Thomas and Cameron Young, but most of that was on the strength of Scott’s putter. He hung in there longer than expected against Chris Gotterup in singles. The real question is: Would Ogilvy have been better off giving this spot to someone he didn’t have to hide most of the competition?

Min Woo Lee: C

Min Woo Lee went all five sessions, but the Internationals simply need more from young Australians to replenish the roster. Losing to Jacob Bridgeman in singles could not happen if they wanted to get across the line on Sunday.

Hideki Matsuyama: C

If the Internationals were going to pull this off, they needed their veterans to deliver and Matsuyama really didn’t. His singles match against Collin Morikawa featured some clutch birdies, but also a brutal short miss with the putter when his side was on the ropes. One of the best iron players of his generation was mediocre in that area all week. 

Adam Scott: D

There’s empathy for Adam Scott, who has been on the wrong end of these matches so many times. But he’s also not been personally good, and was substandard this week. They needed more from Scottie in Sunday singles to fend off the red wave.

Corey Conners: D+

The Shield’s Canadian staple played all five sessions at Medinah, but his poor putting remains the main story yet again. Corey Conners ham-and-egged his way to two alt-shot wins alongside Nick Taylor (a developing Problem?), but could not hold his own on his own ball. A blowout loss to a struggling Justin Thomas on Sunday set an early tone for the U.S. in the early stages of a historic comeback.

Nico Echavarria: F

Poor Nico. He earned a spot on the team, but his cup debut came at the worst possible time as he was going through some swing struggles. It became clear on Thursday he was close to unplayable and would sit until Sunday singles.

Americans

Brandt Snedeker: D

A win is a win, but the American team won despite Brandt Snedeker, not because of him. Before any tee shots went up, it was difficult to cast too strong a judgment of Snedeker in either direction. Selecting Jackson Koivun took some guts, and nothing he did or said set off alarms.

But throughout the course of the week, it became clear that Snedeker was a little overwhelmed by the job. He deviated from his plan to stick a wildly inconsistent Justin Thomas into the Friday foursomes session, which backfired in a big way. He inexplicably benched the best player in the world on Saturday afternoon. He then allowed the International side to deploy multiple of their weakest golfers against the top end of the American roster in Sunday singles, highlighted by a Scottie Scheffler-Nico Echavarria duel that effectively diminished Scheffler’s value by having him beat someone on the weak end of the International roster. 

To Snedeker’s credit, he acknowledged his multitude of errors and admitted he let his team down. Fortunately for Sneds, he’ll be able to sleep a little bit easier tonight since his shortcomings didn’t ultimately cost the Americans a win. 

Jackson Koivun: A

What a wild ride for Jackson Koivun, who is just months out of Auburn. His Sunday singles win was macho stuff, as was carrying his “mentor” Justin Thomas at times in their two-man games. The Ryder Cup is a long way off, but he’s done wonders for his candidacy, as did these reps, should his game remain relatively stable the next year. 

Cameron Young: B+

Is this the best America currently has to offer at team events? Cameron Young bounced back after a brutal Friday foursomes session paired with Justin Thomas to find a new running mate in Chris Gotterup, blitzing the Internationals in both Saturday sessions alongside his fellow northeasterner. This duo materializing as a potential long-term solution for the Americans, paired with yet another Sunday singles win out of the first spot in the order, has to make this week a success for the reigning Players champion.

Chris Gotterup: B+

A Thursday loss alongside Patrick Cantlay prevented this from being an A, but this rookie shook off some rust and the rest of his jitters in time for back-to-back wins alongside Cameron Young on Saturday. He took care of business against a weaker opponent in Sunday singles and brought some much-needed energy and enthusiasm to the entire week (especially the celebration). It’s nice to have a young player who looks like he deeply cares about playing in these cups.

Scottie Scheffler: B

We have had Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups where Scottie Scheffler’s record wasn’t reflective of how he played, and it’s possible we had one in reverse here. Scottie went 3-1-0, but the only player in the event who putted worse? Corey Connors, who lost nearly six strokes on the green. (Scheffler lost -3.08.) Scheffler doesn’t like narratives about his game, and he will get some reprieve in the lead-up to Adare Manor from this idea that he plays poorly in team events because of his record, but if the U.S. is going to knock off the Euros on the road, they will need a much better version of Scheffler.  

Patrick Cantlay: B

Cantlay – of all people – arguably delivered the roar of the event with that almost 60-foot bomb he dropped to polish off Adam Scott, who the Internationals desperately needed in singles to earn a half or full point.

Wyndham Clark: B

This may feel like a generous grade for an overall 1-4-0 record, but Wyndham Clark was among the best USA players through the first two days. He stood in and stood tall, then ran into a buzzsaw in Tom Kim in the singles. Between his attitude and play, Clark feels like a key piece going forward into the Ryder Cup.

Xander Schauffele: B

He was among the worst players on the course in the opening session, but rebounded with a nice alt-shot whupping alongside Patrick Cantlay and then gave the USA a massive security blanket on Sunday by beating up on Open Champion Ryan Fox in the anchor spot.

Jacob Bridgeman: C

This is close to an n/a, but good on the rookie for getting a Sunday singles win that turned out to be the clinching cup point. He was shaky in the two two-man starts he made, but some of that was due to Russ Bus Henley’s busted tires.

Sam Burns: C

Paired with his best friend for three of the five sessions, Burns played a pivotal role in stealing a full point for Team USA in Saturday fourball. He sealed the deal with two consecutive birdies, including what might’ve been the shot of the tournament on the par-3 16th. He joined Wyndham Clark for a fourth session on Saturday afternoon and the pair were chased down by a surging and well-rested Ryan Fox. Burns went out early for the Americans on Sunday and was one of just two losses for the winning team. After such a solid year at the game’s biggest tournaments, his team-event struggles don’t seem to be cured just yet.

Justin Thomas: C

Let’s deal with the facts first. Thomas went 2-1-1, and his 2.5 points were an important part of the American victory. He played great in one — Thursday fourball. He brought his usual brand of intensity and energy. You can make the argument he really is the American Poulter. But these are also facts: He was the worst player on the course in Friday foursomes. He was the worst player on the course in Saturday fourball. In Sunday singles, he dominated on the scoreboard but still lost strokes in every category except putting. Drawing the International anchor, Corey Connors, masked some of his sloppy play. He’s probably still a lock for the American team when they head to Adare Manor, because of his leadership and overall vibe. He cares deeply, and that does count for something. But this was not a strong showing for someone who keeps making the team in part because of past performances, ones that are also getting further and further in the rear view mirror. 

Collin Morikawa: C

Outside of his back-and-forth bout with Hideki Matsuyama in what may have been the best singles match of the day, Collin Morikawa was largely pretty quiet this week. He missed loads of putts down the stretch in foursomes on Friday, but still put two points on the board for the U.S. That passes.

Russell Henley: D

Henley has simply not looked stable the last two Septembers in these cups. The late Saturday collapse was jarring. He may auto-qualify for Adare Manor and Jim Fuyrk will have to think long and hard about where to place him.

Miscellaneous

OCM's Renovation: A

Medinah No. 3 was all but unrecognizable: varied from hole to hole, strategically sophisticated, challenging in multifaceted ways, and fun. Excellent work by Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking, and Ashley Mead, and a major coup for their up-and-coming golf architecture outfit.

The Fence: A+

A beautiful boy. Perfect. Annoyed all the right people.

The Rough Just Inside the Fence: F

Early in Thursday's fourball session, we watched in disbelief as an errant Hideki Matsuyama drive on No. 1 bounded toward the fence... and stopped dead in a freshly grown stand of thick rough just inside the out-of-bounds line! Same deal on Nos. 2 and 3. It was a baffling setup decision — one that betrays a total misunderstanding of what those holes were designed to do.

The Next Presidents Cup Venue: A+

Doesn’t get much better.

The Telecast: D

We can't say anything about NBC's performance this week that hasn't already been said on Twitter. Most galling was the inability to tell a coherent story about each foursomes match, when just eight to 10 balls were in play. On the bright side, we mostly forgot about NBC's issues late on Sunday, which is an indication that the telecast found its footing. Like pulling a B+ on your final after skipping most of the lectures and half-assing every paper.

Andy's Earth Tones: A

Legitimately a good fit.

The Fans: B

The Chicago fans showed up in good numbers and became progressively louder as the cup went on and Wyndham Clark asked for more. There were some regrettable heckles, and one notable disruption with Nico Echavarria, but nothing even approaching the Bethpage catastrophe.

President Trump: B

Golfweek reported that President Trump planned to give a 15-minute speech prior to Sunday singles. Anyone who has ever been to a wedding where the Best Man or Maid of Honor droned on for 15 minutes will attest that no one wants to sit through that kind of speech. Thankfully, the President settled for a quick introduction and then ceded the stage. That handshake with Adam Scott was a bit aggressive, but overall, he did what any president (regardless of party or popularity) should do in this event: Smile, wave, and don’t make it about you.