The U.S. eked out a 3-2 session win over the International team as the 2026 Presidents Cup got underway with fourball matches at Medinah Golf Club on Thursday.
This is the closest the Cup has been after session one since the International team took a 4-1 lead after the opening day in 2019 (the U.S. would go on to win 16-14 with Tiger Woods as captain). The U.S. is looking for its 11th consecutive Presidents Cup win while the Internationals are looking for their second.
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“A session win is a session win; we’re going to take it any way we can get it,” 2026 U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker said. “So happy for Scottie and Sam to go out there in that lead match and get that big win for us to lead us off. This is a long week. This is one session. We’ve got four more to go.”
Scheffler and Burns won their first match together at either a Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup. Prior to Thursday, they were a combined 0-3-1 at the 2022 Presidents Cup and 2023 Ryder Cup. The best friends weren’t paired together for the past two Cups before Snedeker gave them another shot.
The Americans’ match with Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im went all the way until the end, with neither team able to go more than 1 up at any time throughout the match. A par from Scheffler on the 18th sealed the 1 up win.
The Internationals won their first point with a 3 and 1 win for Japanese pair Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune over Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele.
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Both Matsuyama and Hisatsune said they were nervous on Thursday, but they went 2 up with a birdie on the ninth before a birdie on the 17th secured the 3 and 1 win.
“I’ve been waiting for another guy from Japan to come play with me, and I was really happy today,” Matsuyama said of being paired with the 24-year-old Hisatsune. “It was kind of off to a slow start, but he picked up my slack and we were able to get the point today.”
The first point of the day for the Americans didn’t come from Scheffler and Burns, but rather, the veteran-rookie pairing of Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun. Thomas is now 7-0 at Presidents Cups in fourball matches. (He’s also 4-0-2 in foursomes.)
“Good partners is a great start,” Thomas said when asked about his winning streak. “I don’t know, man. Match play is a bizarre thing. Some matches you just get away with some, and I’ve played great with some great partners, and I’m happy we got a point today. That’s all that matters.”
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The 21-year-old Koivun said he was a “little shaky” on the first two holes, but after that he found his groove.
Together, Thomas and Koivun had delivered the U.S. point by the 15th hole, where they won 4 and 3 over Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria.
Wyndham Clark has been one of the best players in the world this year, and he came to Illinois with a chip on his shoulder after missing out on the 2025 Ryder Cup team. Paired with Collin Morikawa on Thursday, the two beat Ryan Fox and Adam Scott, 3 and 2.
“I was obviously pissed I didn’t make the [Ryder Cup] team,” Clark said. “I didn’t watch the first couple days because I was a little sour about it, not because I didn’t get the pick, it was just more that I had such a bad year.
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“Then as the guys were making a comeback on Sunday, I watched. Of course I’m friends with all these guys, and I was rooting for them hard. Yeah, it’s always a motivation to make the teams. I was really happy I made this team, and I’m hoping this is one of many.”
In the final match of the day, Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim – the Internationals’ all-star pairing – dominated Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay, 3 and 2.
While they could’ve earned the point sooner, Tom Kim had the shot of the day on the par-3 16th with a near-ace to seal it.
“When you know your partner is not only on the green but within 20 feet, it definitely gives a lot more comfortability knowing that I can kind of be aggressive,” Tom said.
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Si Woo, the top-ranked player on the International team, is optimistic after the team started 0-5 in 2024.
“I think it’s definitely better than last time,” the world No. 14 said. “It was a brutal start last time.”
International captain Geoff Ogilvy echoed that sentiment: “2-3 their way is not too bad. We had a couple of really good solid matches there, and we had a match go up to 18 (Lee/Im), which would have been nice if it went the other way, but 2-3, we’ll take that.”
The 2026 Presidents Cup continues Friday with foursomes. Here are the matchups, tee times and how to watch.
GOLF: SEP 24 Presidents Cup
Friday Presidents Cup tee times: Foursomes pairings and matchups for Sept. 25
See the full Day 2 tee times and foursomes pairings for the 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah, with matchups and start times for every match.
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