The United States overcame a three-point deficit entering Sunday singles to beat the International team 17-13 at Medinah Country Club, winning the Presidents Cup for the 11th straight time. The International side had led 10.5-7.5 after Saturday’s play, but the Americans won nine of 12 singles matches and halved one to take 9.5 points Sunday and close out the trophy on Sept. 27.
How the week unfolded
The teams opened close: the U.S. took Thursday’s session 3-2. The International team swept Friday’s foursomes 5-0 for a 7-3 lead. Saturday split into two sessions: the U.S. won the first 2.5-1.5, then the two sides halved the second 2-2. That left the International team ahead 10.5-7.5 heading into Sunday’s 12 singles matches, with the U.S. needing 8 points to reach the 15.5 required to win.
The Sunday turn
In match play, “1 up” means a match went the full 18 holes and was decided by one hole; “3 and 2” means it ended three holes up with two left.
Jackson Koivun, a 21-year-old rookie, went 2 down through 10 holes to Si Woo Kim before reeling off three straight holes for a 2-up win, part of a 2-0-1 week. Collin Morikawa beat Hideki Matsuyama 1 up, and Patrick Cantlay beat Adam Scott 2 and 1. The Associated Press reported that Cantlay holed a birdie putt from just inside 60 feet on the par-3 16th, that Jacob Bridgeman clinched the Cup with a 3-foot par putt over Min Woo Lee, and that Nick Taylor’s match against Russell Henley was later halved.
Scottie Scheffler beat Nico Echavarria 2 and 1. Someone yelled during Echavarria’s backswing, causing him to drop his driver as his ball went right, and Scheffler “barked at” the fan, the AP reported; later, after missing a birdie putt, he conceded a 30-foot par to Echavarria, which the AP called “a show of sportsmanship.” Other American winners were Cameron Young (3 and 2 over Ryo Hisatsune), Justin Thomas (5 and 3 over Corey Conners), Chris Gotterup (1 up over Christiaan Bezuidenhout) and Xander Schauffele (2 and 1 over Ryan Fox). The International team’s only singles wins came from Tom Kim, who beat Wyndham Clark 3 and 2 and finished the week with four match wins, the most of any player, and Sungjae Im, who beat Sam Burns 3 and 1.
What the captains said
U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker pointed to the course’s history. “I told the guys last night that funny stuff happens here. Medinah has a history of funny things happening,” he said, according to the AP. “Sure enough, they went out and played their (tails) off today. I’m so damn proud of those guys.” Of Koivun, he said: “The kid is special. He’s different.”
International captain Geoff Ogilvy said, “It was sort of on a knife’s edge all day,” per the AP. “But look, it’s a very difficult thing to beat the U.S. in singles in the U.S,” he said. “They’re great players, and the crowd came out for them. They get a bit of red on the board, and the noise gets loud. They started the day with a lot to do and they all played great.”
Trump’s role
President Donald Trump, the Presidents Cup’s honorary chairman, spoke briefly on the first tee before the singles began, the AP reported, and presented the trophy afterward, per USA TODAY. He held the same role in 2017 at Liberty National, during his first term. Snedeker credited him: “As he told me this morning, he brought some juice for us today and I told him if it turned out our way, I was going to give him credit. He definitely brought the juice. He deserves a lot of the credit for what happened today,” Snedeker said at the trophy ceremony, as quoted by USA TODAY.
The record book
The win moved the Americans to 14-1-1 all-time and extended their home record to 9-0-0, per the official history page. The International team’s only win came in 1998; the two sides tied in 2003. The AP called Sunday’s singles session the biggest Sunday rout in tournament history and noted that Medinah had seen a comeback before, when Europe erased a 10-6 deficit to win the 2012 Ryder Cup against a U.S. team that included Snedeker as a player.
What’s next
The next Presidents Cup is set for 2028 at Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, according to the event’s official future-venues listing.