It seems like just yesterday we were at Bethpage Black for the 45th Ryder Cup, but almost one year later means it’s time for the Presidents Cup.
The 2026 Presidents Cup returns to Medinah Country Club from September 22–27.
This page will be updated through the Presidents Cup with the latest team news, uniforms, schedule and other important developments as they happen.
Latest Update: September 23, 2026
Captain’s Pairings for Thursday Four-Ball Matches Announced
U.S. Presidents Cup Team captain Brandt Snedeker and International Team captain Geoff Ogilvy made their picks for Thursday’s four-ball matches during a live press conference that took place at 1:45 p.m. PST today.
Thursday’s pairings are as follows:
Match 1:
Scottie Scheffler — Sam Burns
vs.
Min Woo Lee — Sungjae Im
Match 2:
Cameron Young — Xander Schauffele
vs.
Hideki Matsuyama — Ryo Histatsune
Match 3:
Justin Thomas — Jackson Koivun
vs.
Corey Conners — Nico Echavarria
Match 4:
Wyndham Clark — Collin Morikawa
vs.
Ryan Fox — Adam Scott
Match 5:
Chris Gotterup — Patrick Cantlay
vs.
Tom Kim — Si Woo Kim
Match 1 starts at 9:35 a.m. PST.
What is the Four-Ball Format?
Thursday’s matches are in the four-ball format, which is otherwise known as “best-ball” or “better-ball”. In this format, players are paired with one player from their own team. They play against two players of the opposing team.
Each player plays their own ball, recording a score for each hole. The lower of the two scores from one team is taken and compared with the lower score from the other team. A team wins the hole when their team’s better score is lower than the other team’s better score. If each team’s better score is the same, the hole is tied. A team wins the match when they lead by more holes than there are holes remaining.
Each match is worth one point toward the Presidents Cup tournament aggregate score. Matches that end in a tie result in half of a point for each team.
There are 30 total matches during the Presidents Cup. Five of those matches are being played on Thursday, meaning five points are up for grabs.
The first team to earn 15.5 points wins the Presidents Cup.
Update 1: September 7, 2026
Presidents Cup Teams Finalized
With the completion of the TOUR Championship and the announcement of the captain’s picks, the U.S. and International teams are now set for the 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club.
The first six players on each team earned automatic qualifying spots through different points systems, with the remaining six selected by U.S. Team Captain Brandt Snedeker and International Team Captain Geoff Ogilvy.
Starting with the Americans, the 2026 U.S. Presidents Cup Team looks a lot like the Ryder Cup team from 2025.
Eight of the 12 players headed to Medinah were also on the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup Team: Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Sam Burns, Russell Henley, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas.
Only four players have changed. Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, Ben Griffin and J.J. Spaun were on the 2025 Ryder Cup team but aren’t part of this year’s Presidents Cup roster. Wyndham Clark, Jacob Bridgeman, Chris Gotterup and Jackson Koivun take their places at Medinah. Bridgeman, Gotterup and Koivun will all be making their Presidents Cup debuts.
On paper, it’s an incredibly strong team.
The player pool for the International Team is completely different from the European Ryder Cup Team, so it’s important to first understand who is actually eligible to play.
The Presidents Cup was created by the PGA TOUR in 1994 as a team competition between the United States and players from the rest of the world outside of Europe. The Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup are played in alternating years, with the U.S. competing in both. European players compete against the U.S. in the Ryder Cup, while non-European international players compete against the U.S. in the Presidents Cup.
Of course, when thinking about the best international players in the world, there are some notable names missing from the International Team.
Aaron Rai is a great example. Rai had an incredible 2026 season, winning his first major championship with a final-round 65 at the PGA Championship at Aronimink. Rai is currently ranked 19th in the Official World Golf Ranking and has never played in a Ryder Cup, but because he is from England, he isn’t eligible for the International Presidents Cup Team either.
The 2026 International Team will be made up of Si Woo Kim, Ryan Fox, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee, Tom Kim, Adam Scott, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Corey Conners, Nico Echavarria, Ryo Hisatsune, Sungjae Im and Nick Taylor.
Six qualified automatically, while Bezuidenhout, Conners, Echavarria, Hisatsune, Im and Taylor were selected by Ogilvy as captain’s picks.
There are also several notable past International Team players who won’t be returning to the Presidents Cup this year.
Jason Day, Byeong Hun An, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes were all members of the 2024 International Team at Royal Montreal but aren’t on the 2026 team headed to Medinah. Ryan Fox, Nico Echavarria, Ryo Hisatsune and Nick Taylor are the four newcomers to the team, with all four making their Presidents Cup debuts.
When it comes to the depth of the two teams that will actually be at Medinah, it’s a bit of a lopsided affair.
How lopsided?
The U.S. Presidents Cup Team currently has seven of the top ten players in the Official World Golf Ranking. The highest-ranked player for the International Team is Si Woo Kim at No. 13.
Eleven of the 12 players on the U.S. Team are inside the OWGR top 30, compared with just five players on the International Team, including Tom Kim at No. 30.
The U.S. Team also combined for 12 PGA TOUR wins during the 2026 season compared with just three for the International Team.
Both teams have a major champion from this season. Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills for the U.S., while Ryan Fox won The Open at Royal Birkdale for the International Team.
One thing working in the International Team’s favor despite this imbalance is what happened at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black last year. While the U.S. Team looks stacked on paper, the Americans have yet to come up with a formula that matches the success of the European Ryder Cup teams in recent years and have shown vulnerability in the team matches.
At the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, the U.S. all but played itself out of the tournament after just two days of team sessions. Europe dominated the foursomes and four-ball matches, building an 11½-4½ lead heading into Sunday’s singles and leaving the Americans needing the largest final-day comeback in Ryder Cup history to win.
They nearly pulled it off.
The U.S. mounted an incredible charge on Sunday, earning 8½ of the 12 available points and turning what looked like a runaway European victory into a Ryder Cup that came down to the final few matches. It was a thrilling Sunday, but it wasn’t enough. Europe held on to win 15-13, its first Ryder Cup victory on American soil since 2012.
Should the International Team mount a charge at Medinah and win, it would be only the second victory in the team’s 32-year history.
The first, and still only, International victory at the Presidents Cup came in 1998 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. Captained by Peter Thomson, the International Team defeated Jack Nicklaus’ U.S. Team 20.5-11.5. The teams also tied 17-17 at Fancourt in South Africa in 2003, but the U.S. has won every Presidents Cup since.
Originally Published: August 7, 2026
Presidents Cup Team Uniforms Unveiled
The first bit of exciting news leading up to the Presidents Cup is the official announcement of the U.S. and International Team uniforms.
The Presidents Cup and Summit Golf Brands have unveiled the official U.S. and International Team uniforms for the 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club, where B. Draddy and Zero Restriction will outfit both teams, along with their captains, caddies and support staff throughout tournament week.
The collection includes seven days of on-course apparel along with off-course pieces, including polos, cashmere sweaters, crewnecks, quarter-zips, sport vests and technical outerwear. Every item features Presidents Cup branding alongside the U.S. flag or the International Team shield.
According to Billy Draddy, founder of B. Draddy and creative director of Summit Golf Brands, the goal throughout the design process was straightforward. “Our priority has been making sure both teams are represented well: that the players feel comfortable in what they’re wearing, that they look good, and that the product performs.”
The U.S. collection leans into a classic red, white and blue palette, while the International Team collection adopts a striking black and gold color scheme inspired by the International Team Shield.
First Impressions
In advance of the tournament, I had the opportunity to check out two pieces from the U.S. Team collection. The Russ Crewneck and the Cool Duke Polo did not disappoint, but, admittedly I wasn’t surprised.
The entire collection was designed by B. Draddy and Zero Restriction, which if you’ve been following The Golf Player, you already know I’m a big fan of both brands. Their quality is second to none and both have managed to elevate the Presidents Cup uniforms beyond feeling like licensed merchandise with a logo applied afterward.
The standout piece for me is the Cool Duke Polo. It uses B. Draddy’s signature COOL FABRIC, a subtly textured performance fabric that reduces the amount of material resting against the skin to improve airflow. Earlier this summer I tested another COOL FABRIC polo from B. Draddy on a particularly sizzling day in Los Angeles and came away genuinely impressed by how breathable and lightweight it remained throughout the round. I was excited to see the same fabric carried over into the Presidents Cup collection. Paired with an understated U.S. flag embroidered on the chest and Presidents Cup branding on the left sleeve, the polo reads more as golf fashion than uniform.
The Russ Crewneck feels like it was made to be lived in. While technically a crewneck, it incorporates a discreet kangaroo pouch making the otherwise preppy style feel sporty and fresh. What stood out most was the construction. Angled stitching extends from the front pouch around the back of the garment, creating a subtle athletic shape without drawing attention to itself. It’s a thoughtful design detail that elevates what could otherwise have been a simple logo sweatshirt.
While the American collection stays true to traditional red, white and blue, I also found myself drawn to the International Team line. The black and gold palette feels distinctive without being loud. My favorites from the International collection are the Everyday Vest and the International Polo, though the entire collection maintains the same striking aesthetic.
You can check out the full collection here.
2026 Presidents Cup Schedule
The 2026 Presidents Cup will be played September 22–27, 2026, at Medinah Country Club’s Course No. 3 in Medinah, Illinois.
Competition begins with practice rounds before four days of match play featuring foursomes, four-ball and singles matches.
Team Standings
Team qualification is ongoing. This section will be updated throughout the season with the latest automatic qualifiers for both the United States and International Team.
Key Dates
- August 5 — Uniforms unveiled
- August 23 — U.S. Team automatic qualifying cutoff
- August 31 — International Team automatic qualifying cutoff
- Late August/ Early September — Captain’s Picks for the remaining team spots
- September 22-23 — Practice days
- September 24 — Presidents Cup Opening Ceremony
- September 24 — Round 1 matches
- September 25 — Round 2 matches
- September 26 — Round 3 & Round 4 matches
- September 27 — Round 5 matches and closing ceremonies
