The 2026 Presidents Cup begins Thursday at Medinah Country Club with the United States seeking an 11th consecutive victory and the International team chasing only its second win in the event’s history. The opening session features five four-ball matches, with the best score from each team counting on every hole.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns lead off for the United States against Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im at 12:35 p.m. ET. They will be followed by Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele against Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune; Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun against Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria; Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa against Ryan Fox and Adam Scott; and Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay against Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim.
The International team’s selections carried particular intrigue after captain Geoff Ogilvy and his assistants took considerably longer to finalize their pairings. Ogilvy ultimately sent Matsuyama and Hisatsune against Young and Schauffele, while U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker moved quickly to select Thomas and Koivun. “We’re not just throwing darts at the wall,” Snedeker said, emphasizing the strategic importance of the Presidents Cup’s captain-controlled matchups.
Jacob Bridgeman and Russell Henley will sit out for the United States, while Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Nick Taylor are rested by the International team. Thursday’s coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on Golf Channel, with the first match scheduled for 12:35 p.m. ET.