2026 Presidents Cup matchups: Day 1 schedule set with Scottie Scheffler leading off

After a week of press conferences and conjecture, the 2026 Presidents Cup is set to get underway on Thursday at Medinah Country Club’s No. 3 course. A heavily favored U.S. team will aim to win its 11th straight Presidents Cup and improve its record to 14-1-1 in this competition, while the visiting International team hopes to buck the recent trend and shock the red, white and blue.

U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker announced, when making his final six selections for his squad, that the opening session will be four-ball, leaving the foursomes format for Friday, before both teams play both formats on Saturday ahead of Sunday singles. 

Electing to defer, Snedeker matched International captain Geoff Ogilvy’s squad of Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im with his duo of Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns to kick off the 16th edition of the Presidents Cup. The world No. 1 will team up with his good friend and look to carry his individual success into this team setting.

Players Championship winner Cameron Young and two-time major champion Xander Schauffele drew a pair of Japanese players in Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune in the second match. Hisatsune will be the first rookie from either side to stick a peg in the ground in competition.

It won’t be long for more to follow as 21-year-old rookie Jackson Koivun will be shepherded around by the most experienced American in Justin Thomas. They draw a favorable matchup for the U.S. in the third match against Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria.

Four major champions fall into the fourth match with Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa taking on Adam Scott, who is set to make his 12th Presidents Cup appearance, and Champion Golfer of the Year Ryan Fox. The final match will pit the International’s best team, Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim, against Patrick Cantlay and Chris Gotterup.

2026 Presidents Cup matchups: Day 1 (Thursday)

All times Eastern

Session 1 — Four-ball

With five matches on the board, the International team will hope to win the opening session for only the fifth time in the competition’s history. When they win the first session, the overall event proves more competitive, which last happened in 2019 at Royal Melbourne when the hosting side entered Sunday singles with the lead.

On paper, the talent discrepancy tilts towards the home team with decidable advantages in the first three matches. What occurs in those final two bouts could very well determine whether this Presidents Cup is one filled with drama. The U.S. went 8-1-0 in the four-ball format in 2024 at Royal Montreal, including a 5-0 sweep in the opening session.

Jacob Bridgeman and Russell Henley will sit for the U.S. team on Thursday, while Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Nick Taylor will be sidelined for the International team.