Scottie Scheffler
The United States has taken a slim 3-2 lead over the Internationals at the Presidents Cup taking place at the Medinah Country Club in Chicago.
The U.S. Team has dominated this event, winning the past 10 editions and entering the week with a 13-1-1 record. The Internationals seek their first outright Presidents Cup win since their lone victory in 1998, with a tie in 2003 being the only other blemish on the Americans’ record.
Thirty points are up for grabs across the four days and five sessions, with the first team to 15.5 points claiming the prize. The Presidents Cup is a four-day, match play event with 30 total matches.
Match 1: Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns (U.S.) def. Min Woo Lee/Sungjae Im (INT), 1-up
World No. 1 Scheffler turned the scoreboard red early with a birdie on the opening hole, hopeful it would be a tone-setter for the U.S. Team in the opening Four-ball match. The 20-plus footer got a 4-under stretch over the first six holes going for both the U.S. pair and Internationals, represented by Sungjae Im and Min Woo Lee, to leave things tied early.
The fireworks didn’t last for either side, however, and that left matters undecided as they matched scores and were 1 under on the next seven holes. Im and Lee had chances to take a lead with putts to win Nos. 10-12 but failed to convert any of them. Im tore the lid off the cup with a mid-range birdie on the water-laden par-3 13th, and watched as Scheffler surprisingly couldn’t answer with a shorter putt. Burns responded with a dart on the 14th to knot things up once again. After no separation formed on the next two holes, the opening match seemed destined for a tie unless one pair could step up.
Scheffler and Burns put two balls on the green on No. 17, placing pressure on the Internationals. Lee had to hole an 8-footer for par to avoid going 1-down, as Im crushed his 37-foot birdie putt by 14 feet and missed the comebacker. The Australian’s attempt rimmed out, assuring the Americans of at least half a point. Needing just a tie at the last, Scheffler made up for an uncharacteristic short-sided miss with an excellent bunker shot to tap-in distance, forcing Im to drain a 41-footer for birdie to salvage a tie. Im’s effort nailed the back of the cup, but, carrying too much speed, went by a few feet to book a full point to the U.S.
Match 2: Hideki Matsuyama/Ryo Hisatsune (INT) def. Cameron Young/Xander Schauffele (U.S.), 3 and 1
The Japanese pairing of Matsuyama and Hisatsune started slowly, but world-class ball-striking from Hisatsune kept the duo afloat with birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 to keep the match square until the par-4 eighth hole.
After Young found water with his approach shot, the rest of the hole would rely on Schauffele, who didn’t do much better. His approach shot came up a few feet short of the water, where he ultimately missed a par putt, conceding the hole to the Internationals.
The International Team won the ninth hole to go 2-up and built on their lead en route to a 3-and-1 victory. Only the second pairing in the event’s history to feature two Japanese players, International Captain Geoff Ogilvy hopes to channel some of that magic from 1998, when Shigeki Maruyama and Joe Ozaki were paired together, went 2-0 in Four-ball matches and ultimately hoisted the Presidents Cup trophy.
Match 3: Justin Thomas/Jackson Koivun (U.S.) def. Corey Conners/Nico Echavarria (INT), 4 and 3
The “Iron Bowl” duo of Auburn’s Koivun and Alabama’s Thomas closed out Conners and Echavarria in 4 and 3, notching the first point for the U.S. Team at Medinah. Thomas, an all-time Presidents Cup performer, improves his overall record to 11-3-2 and 7-0-0 in Four-ball.
Koivun joins Thomas’ undefeated ranks, notching a win in his first career Presidents Cup match. After shaking off some early nerves, Koivun notched the first birdie of the match on the par-5 third. The rookie yanked his tee shot out of bounds on the fourth, but was bailed out by a clutch birdie from Thomas, followed by another at the fifth.
Koivun noticeably regained his poise on the sixth with his second birdie of the day, giving the duo a 3-up advantage heading to the seventh tee. Thomas birdied the par-4 14th and 15th to win back-to-back holes and clinch the victory over the Internationals.
Match 4: Wyndham Clark/Collin Morikawa (U.S.) def. Ryan Fox/Adam Scott (INT), 3 and 2
Reigning U.S. Open champion Clark got off to a red-hot start, birdying three of the match’s first four holes and leading the pair to an early 2-up advantage. Clark, the two-time reigning U.S. Open champion, led all players Thursday, gaining 2.23 strokes with the flat stick.
His teammate, Morikawa, didn’t have his best stuff but hit key shots when the duo needed them most, nearly acing the par-3 16th with a tee shot that settled to tap-in range. Scott calmly rolled in a 15-foot birdie of his own, but it wasn’t enough for the Internationals.
The Americans walked off the 16th green having secured their squad’s third point of the day and guaranteeing a lead heading into Friday.
Match 5: Tom Kim/Si Woo Kim (INT) def. Chris Gotterup/Patrick Cantlay (U.S.), 3 and 2
The final Four-ball grouping of the day started in favor of the International Team, where momentum never shifted. The fan-favorite “Kim” pairing of Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim didn’t have the fireworks or let loose the emotions that viewers came to expect after 2024, but let it be known that the pairing didn’t necessarily disappoint either. T
he first-time pairing of Gotterup and Cantlay never quite got settled in, despite them battling to get the match to all square on the sixth hole. The International Team quickly recovered their momentum with a birdie at the par-3 seventh hole and pushed their lead to 3-up on No. 14.
Ultimately, Tom Kim punctuated their 3-and-2 victory with a near ace on the 165-yard 16th hole.
Round One (Thursday):
Four-ball – United States 3, International 2
Match 1: Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns (U.S.) def. Min Woo Lee/Sungjae Im (INT), 1-up
Match 2: Hideki Matsuyama/Ryo Hisatsune (INT) def. Cameron Young/Xander Schauffele (U.S.), 3 and 1
Match 3: Justin Thomas/Jackson Koivun (U.S.) def. Corey Conners/Nico Echavarria (INT), 4 and 3
Match 4: Wyndham Clark/Collin Morikawa (U.S.) def. Ryan Fox/Adam Scott (INT), 3 and 2
Match 5: Tom Kim/Si Woo Kim (INT) def. Chris Gotterup/Patrick Cantlay (U.S.), 3 and 2
