Q&A with Brandt Snedeker, captain of the U.S. team at 2026 Presidents Cup

Brandt Snedeker went 165 starts and nearly eight years between wins but how sweet it is to be back in the winner’s circle.

Snedeker won the Oneflight Myrtle Beach Classic on Sunday, which made him the 121st player to reach double digit wins in PGA Tour history.

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What a week for the 2026 U.S. Presidents Cup captain.

“I feel so lucky to still be out here still doing what I love to do, to have a chance to win a golf tournament at my age and to be able to pull it out is something super special,” he said.

Snedeker shot a final-round 5-under 66 to come from three shots down at the start of the day to win his 10th title on the PGA Tour.

Ahead of the Presidents Cup in September, Golfweek caught up with Snedeker for this Q&A.

GWK: What would you say you learned from being an assistant to Keegan last year? 

BS: I learned how much work it’s going to take to do it the right way, so there’s a lot more stuff that goes into it than people think. I learned a lot from Jim, what it takes to get everybody buying into a team, and buying into a culture, and  kind of believe in something bigger than yourselves. Just little small things, structure for the guys, what the guys like, what they won’t like, what brings these guys together and makes them comfortable so they play the best.

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GWK: Do you feel at a disadvantage in that you’re not in the signature events, and thus don’t see the guys who are really going to make up that team as much? 

BS: No, I’m going to travel to a few of them, see the guys. I’ve got a pretty open communication with the guys. I watch them just like everybody else and I’ve got friends that I talk to about how they’re doing, and keeping abreast of what’s going on. I don’t think there’s any of that added value to playing competitive rounds with them. You’re going to see them on TV. I’m going to travel, spend time with some other guys and see what’s going on.

GWK: Did you play practice rounds with anyone particular this week?

BS: Not this week, no, but I’ve kind of stayed up with the guys, text with a bunch of guys, text Akshay [Bhatia] and Chris [Gotterup] after they won, just let him know I’m proud of them. Well, obviously, they’re on the radar, they’re playing great, and keep it going, you know?

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GWK: You haven’t picked any of your assistants yet. How will you determine those? Would that be friends? Does the PGA Tour influence that? 

BS: I think I’m kind of narrowing the list down. Obviously, I want some guys with experience, guys that I trust. Basically, guys, that I trust and believe in.

GWK: Will whoever is selected as Ryder Cup captain be an assistant? 

BS: I’d like to set up a plan going forward to bring these two into things together, whereas the next Ryder Cup captain, the vice captain. I hope whoever is the next Presidents Cup captain for 2028, I would hope it’d be a vice captain in 2027, the Ryder Cup, so he gets some on the ground experience before he takes over that role.

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GWK: Are you nervous? 

BS: Not really. I mean, there’s not a whole lot I can do. I could mess it up, I guess, but I’m more anxious, not nervous. I’m more excited for the guys to have fun. My goal is to get all the mundane stuff done so they can have a great week. I’m taking the Freddie Couples mentality of this, you know? I asked Jack Nicklaus last year what I need to do for the boys and he said just make sure that they have great sandwiches and great food and get the hell out of the way. Let them go play golf.

GWK: I know when I talked to Jim, I remember he said I don’t want to be known as the guy who lost. Because the U.S. has kind of dominated this thing. Do you feel some pressure in that? 

BS: I wish I could say I have this huge role in the outcome. Like, I’m gonna be this unbelievable captain, that’s going to have this great plan, that’s going to totally change the way we do these things. At the end of the day, it’s how good do these guys play on the course. I want to make sure we’re prepared and ready to go. I don’t want to get caught up in the outcome and stuff. I want to get these guys ready, get the team ready, get all the stuff done, so that they’re ready to go, and then let the guys go play great golf. I’m not too worried about how it looks.

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GWK: Have you thought much about the setup of the course that your opposing captain, Geoff Ogilvy, helped design? 

BS: I’ve thought about it, for sure. I don’t think Geoff built that golf course for his team. I don’t think there’s any whatever home-course knowledge Geoff has on that place, by the time we get up there and spend a week practicing there, it’ll be pretty neutral.

GWK: When you think back to the teams that you played on, how did you deal with the wins and the losses?

BS: It’s tough. The wins are obviously some of the best memories you have out here in your career, and the losses are some of the worst. There’s no in between. It’s not like there’s a happy medium. If you win, it’s gonna be awesome; if you lose, it’s gonna be terrible. There’s no way around that. That’s why team golf is so great. You get to experience the highs with somebody else other than yourself. Normally, if you win, it’s just you and your wife, your caddie and your coach, and that’s about it. When you win with a team, you celebrate with the 12 best players in the world who are also your buddies, and it’s just unbelievable. You have these great memories together. Vice versa, when you lose, you have these horrible memories but you’ve stuck together. That’s what makes team golf special.

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GWK: What’s something based on your personal experience being on a team that you’re going to make sure you do?

BS: I’m really going to take care of the caddies, coaches, families, make sure they have a great experience. Make sure that they’re taken care of because I think that plays a big role in the players playing good too, so that they feel like they’re part of the team, and we’re not just 12 players, we’re 175 people strong, with families and coaches, and caddies and families, and I feel like if they have a great experience, then it only helps the players play well.

GWK: How would you describe the renovation to Medinah? 

BS: Totally different. Unrecognizable. Curious to see how it plays. When I say totally unrecognizable, it’s because they’ve taken down a lot of trees, but the real thing is, the finish of Medinah is unrecognizable. Nos. 12 through 18 is totally different – new layout, new routing, new everything. The first nine is pretty similar, but new bunkering, new greens, that kind of stuff. But what people remember about Medinah was the last nine. Those big par threes over the water, the 18th hole, totally gone. So, it’s a different golf course.

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GWK: Is the course going to play in the traditional order or re-route to make sure certain finishing holes don’t get missed if matches finish early? 

BS: We’re going to start on the fifth hole to make sure all the matches are in touch those.

GWK: You said that the losses were some of the toughes memories. When you were on the losing end of the Miracle at Medinah at the 2012 Ryder Cup, you apologized to Davis Love III, your captain. Why? 

BS: I did. Davis is still known as the captain that lost that one. He’s got to live with it a bit worse than I do. I lost a match to Paul Lawrie. I got smoked. I didn’t play good on Sunday but Davis put a year and a half of his life into that and did everything right, and we just didn’t play well on Sunday. I still feel bad about it.

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GWK: Did you cry that night? 

BS: I don’t think I did. I got close. There were lots of tears, so I might have cried. I don’t know. Can’t remember.

GWK: Did you celebrate with the other team that night? 

BS: I didn’t go have a beer. Wasn’t in the mood. Didn’t think anything good could come of it.

GWK: How does it feel to go back to a venue, a place where you have some of your worst memories in your career? 

BS: Well, I think the golf course being totally different kind of changes it, and I think it’s special. I think it’s really good to be able to have it at Medinah because of the history there. To be able to be the captain is really special. To know that this will be the first venue to host a PGA Championship, a U.S. Open, a Ryder Cup and a Presidents Cup is pretty special.

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GWK: What’s your favorite Presidents Cup memory as a player?

BS: I’m fortunate to have had Freddie as a captain, so there’s so many great stories about Freddie being Freddie. Tiger played despite his back was really messed up that week and he played great. Won a great match on Sunday to help us win at Muirfield Village. So seeing him struggle through the week, the way he did, nobody knowing how bad he was hurt, and play the way he did was pretty special.

GWK: Are you going to play a little more to try to be around the guys? 

BS: I’m going to play a pretty full schedule this summer and try to get out there on the weeks when I’m not playing a signature event I’m not in and try to get there and see the guys, and spend some time with them, and do some dinners, and just be around them.

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GWK: Is there a plan to get the guys to go to Medinah in advance?

BS: I don’t think we’re going to do a formal one. I will put it out there to them once the team starts taking shape, see if they want to stop in and play it. But I think because of the schedule, the way it works this year – we’ve only got three weeks off after Tour Championship before the Presidents Cup – I’m not going to make anybody go up there and do anything but if they want to, I want to make sure it’s available.

GWK: Will you gather the team at one of the fall events like the U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents teams have done the last few years? 

BS: No, I don’t think there’s enough time in between Tour Championship and Presidents Cup. I feel like after Tour Championship, guys have been playing six out of seven weeks or seven of eight weeks, and I feel like rest will be more important than making them go play. I think last year was a unique year, because there was four weeks off, a whole month off before, I think there’s only three weeks this year. I trust the guys to be prepared and ready to go.

The Presidents Cup will be held at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, Sept. 22–27, 2026.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Presidents Cup 2026 Q&A U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker