Presidents Cup Friday Pairings Put Team Double J on Pause

Well, so much for getting another day of Team Double J right away.

One afternoon after Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun clicked in a 4-and-3 four-ball victory, U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker will split them for Friday’s foursomes session at Medinah Country Club. Koivun will sit, while Thomas heads back out with Cameron Young in the fourth of five alternate-shot matches.

That is not a reason to reconsider what Thomas and Koivun showed Thursday. It is a reminder that foursomes asks captains to solve a very different puzzle.

The Americans carry a 3-2 lead into Friday after winning the opening four-ball session. Snedeker will keep two of Thursday’s winning combinations together. Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns lead off against Corey Conners and Nick Taylor at 2:05 p.m. ET, while Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa face Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee in the third match.

The bigger changes come around them.

Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman, both rested Thursday, will make their first appearances together against Sungjae Im and Hideki Matsuyama. Thomas and Young follow against Adam Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

Then Snedeker goes back to one of the most familiar American combinations in recent team golf, pairing Patrick Cantlay with Xander Schauffele against Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim in the anchor match. The two Kims remain together after beating Cantlay and Chris Gotterup, 3 and 2, Thursday.

Geoff Ogilvy made an interesting call of his own.

Ryo Hisatsune sits despite combining with Matsuyama for a 3-and-1 victory over Young and Schauffele on Thursday. Matsuyama instead moves alongside Im. Nico Echavarria also sits, while Taylor and Bezuidenhout enter after watching the opening session.

Hisatsune’s absence caught my attention more than Koivun’s.

Koivun played well in his debut and looked increasingly comfortable beside Thomas, but foursomes can expose every small incompatibility between two games. The ball is shared. A poor drive belongs to the partner hitting next. Approach-shot preferences matter. Putting order matters. Even which player tees off on the odd-numbered holes can become part of the decision.

Ogilvy already knows Hisatsune can produce a point with Matsuyama. Friday gives him a chance to see whether Matsuyama and Im can become another useful combination while preserving Hisatsune for a busy Saturday.

Snedeker is doing something similar with Koivun.

There are still eight team matches available Saturday, followed by singles Sunday. Nothing about sitting Friday prevents Thomas and Koivun from becoming Team Double J again.

I certainly hope they do.

For now, though, Friday belongs to five different experiments.

PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on RG.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.

Related: Team Double J Is My New Favorite Presidents Cup Pairing

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Related: A Soft Medinah Could Limit Geoff Ogilvy’s Presidents Cup Advantage

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Sep 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Golf section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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