Written By | Sports Desk
The Americans edged day one of the 16th Presidents Cup 3–2, but a narrow lead on a famous comeback course leaves Geoff Ogilvy's side with something they rarely get: a real chance.
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MEDINAH, Illinois
The number that hangs over every Presidents Cup is 1998. That was the year the International team beat the United States at Royal Melbourne, and it remains the only time they have done it. Since then the Americans have been almost untouchable: a tie in South Africa in 2003, then victory after victory, ten in a row, for an overall record of 13 wins, one loss and one tie.
So a one-point deficit after the first day at Medinah Country Club is not a crisis for Geoff Ogilvy's team. By the standards of this event, it is close to encouraging. On Thursday, in the first five four-ball matches of the 16th Presidents Cup, Brandt Snedeker's United States team won three and the Internationals won two. The Americans lead 3–2, with 25 points still to play and 15.5 needed to lift the trophy on Sunday.
A day that went down to the last putt
The first match set the tone for a tight, nervy day on Medinah's Course No. 3. Snedeker sent out world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler with his close friend Sam Burns, a slightly surprising choice given that the pair had not won a match together in four previous team events (0-3-1). Scheffler's overall team match-play record coming into the week, 6-11-4, has long been an odd footnote to five years of individual dominance.
It very nearly stayed that way. Sungjae Im and Min Woo Lee matched the Americans birdie for birdie through a fast start and had chances to go ahead on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes. Im finally took the lead with a birdie on the water-guarded par-3 13th, but Burns answered on the 14th. On the 18th, Scheffler recovered from a rare missed green with a bunker shot to tap-in range, leaving Im needing to hole a 41-footer to halve the match. His putt hit the back of the cup, ran past, and the first point went to the U.S.
Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune pulled the Internationals level with a 3-and-1 win over Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele. The turning point came on the par-4 eighth, where Young found water and Schauffele missed a par putt after coming up short of the hazard. It was only the second all-Japanese pairing in the event's history. The first, Shigeki Maruyama and Joe Ozaki, went 2-0 in four-ball in 1998, the year the Internationals won. Ogilvy hopes the parallel holds.
The 'Iron Bowl' rookie and a U.S. Open champion's putter
The most enjoyable storyline of the day belonged to 21-year-old Jackson Koivun, the former Auburn star making his Presidents Cup debut alongside Alabama's Justin Thomas. After an early wobble, including a tee shot out of bounds on the fourth, Koivun settled with birdies on the third and sixth holes. Thomas then closed out Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria 4 and 3 with back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th.
The numbers behind Thomas are remarkable. He is now 11-3-2 in Presidents Cup play and a perfect 7-0-0 in four-ball.
Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa then guaranteed the U.S. would lead overnight. Clark, the U.S. Open champion, birdied three of the first four holes and led the whole field on the greens, gaining 2.23 strokes putting. Morikawa hit the key shot, nearly holing his tee shot on the par-3 16th to seal a 3-and-2 win over Adam Scott and Ryan Fox.
The Internationals had the final word. Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim, the pairing that brought so much emotion to the 2024 match, beat the new team of Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay 3 and 2, with Tom Kim nearly making an ace on the 165-yard 16th.
Why Medinah matters
There is a reason the course itself is part of the story. Medinah has hosted three U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships. It also staged the 2012 Ryder Cup, when Europe came back from 10–6 down on Sunday to win in what golf still calls the 'Miracle at Medinah'. No lead is safe here.
The format rewards patience. After Friday's foursomes session, when partners play alternate shots, Saturday brings two more team sessions before 12 singles matches on Sunday decide everything. Ogilvy's challenge is to keep the match close enough that the singles, where anything can happen, become a genuine coin toss.
The captains' chess match
This is a contest between two first-time captains who both know the event well. Snedeker takes over from Jim Furyk, who led the Americans in 2024 and is now one of his assistants, alongside Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland. Ogilvy, the 2006 U.S. Open champion, went 7-6-1 as a player across three Presidents Cups between 2007 and 2011 and served as an assistant in the last four. His own backroom team includes Trevor Immelman, Camilo Villegas, Tim Clark and Taylor Pendrith.
Thursday suggested Ogilvy has thought carefully about chemistry. Both International wins came from pairings built on nationality and friendship: the two Japanese players, and the two Koreans. That matters for a side drawn from Asia, Australia, Canada, South America and South Africa, whose players share a tour but not a flag.
What this means for you
For viewers, the second day promises some of the best television of the week. Coverage of Friday's foursomes runs on Golf Channel from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET. Alternate-shot golf is the most unforgiving format in the game: one loose drive leaves your partner in trouble, and the pressure is shared in a way it never is in a normal tournament.
For casual fans, the maths is simple: a win is worth a point and a halved match half a point. With 30 on offer, 15.5 wins the Cup outright.
The bottom line
One day in, nothing is settled, but the shape of the week is clear. The Americans have the world No. 1, a deep and experienced roster and a decade of winning habits. The Internationals have a one-point gap to close, some pairings that clearly work, and the memory of a Chicago course where a Sunday comeback once changed golf history.
Twenty-eight years is a long time to wait. For the first time in a while, the waiting looks like it might be worth watching.
