The Americans are up 3-2 on the International side after a far less dominant effort than they put forward two years ago
Day 1 at the 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club’s No. 3 course brought a (somewhat surprisingly) competitive bout as the United States scratched and clawed its way to a 3-2 session victory in the four-ball format. It is the eighth time in the nine Presidents Cups held on U.S. soil that the home team has grabbed the early advantage by winning the opening session.
Despite being underdogs in all five matches, the International team did well to keep the contests close, and the visitors could have done even more damage if not for the opening match falling the way of the Americans.
That is where world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler & Sam Burns proved victorious, 1 UP. The two good friends grabbed an early lead thanks to a birdie from Scheffler on the first hole, but the four-time major champion would only make one more the rest of the way on No. 4, leaving the door open for the black and gold.
Min Woo Lee & Sungjae Im had their chances and missed birdie bids from inside 10 feet to win Nos. 10, 11 and 12. They finally converted on No. 13 to grab the lead, but it was not for long as Burns punched back on the next to draw the match even.
“We just did our best to stay in it,” Scheffler said. “I felt like both teams got off to pretty hot starts today, and we cooled off a little bit off that. But Sam I felt like hit probably the shot of the match there on 14. We lost 13 to go 1 Down, and then, he hit one in there to a couple feet, and we were able to square the match up. I felt like that was really a big moment for us as a team, and he stepped up when we needed him to.”
It remained that way until Scheffler & Burns only needed a par to win No. 17 after Im three putted for bogey and Lee missed his par putt from just inside 10 feet. That hole proved to be the decider.
The U.S. taking the opening match 1 UP was significant, given the Japanese duo of Hideki Matsuyama & Ryo Hisatsune could do no wrong in the second match. Hisatsune was up to the challenge early and late in his debut with Matsuyama, doing most of the work in the middle portion of the match.
The two combined for six birdies and made easy work of Cameron Young & Xander Schauffele to win 3 & 1. The victory put an end to Matsuyama’s four-match losing streak in the four-ball format.
“It’s been a long time. I’ve been waiting for another guy from Japan to come play with me, and I was really happy today,” Matsuyama said. “It was kind of off to a slow start, but he picked up my slack, and we were able to get the point today.”
A similar cadence played out in the third match, as Justin Thomas & Jackson Koivun were up early and often on Corey Conners & Nico Echavarria. Thomas improved to 7-0-0 in the four-ball format in his Presidents Cup career and tied the longest win streak in Presidents Cup history in the format with the 4 & 3 triumph.
“That’s sweet,” Thomas said. “I did not know that. Good partners are a great start. I don’t know, man. Match play is a bizarre thing. Some matches you just get away with some, and I’ve played great with some great partners, and I’m happy we got a point today. That’s all that matters.”
Meanwhile, Koivun became the second youngest American to win a point in the Presidents Cup, trailing only Jordan Spieth.
“It was great,” Koivun said. “Anytime you can put up a point for Team USA, it’s good. First two holes [were] definitely a little shaky, but after that, kind of found a groove. Me and J.T., we played really well out there. He picked me up when I didn’t play too hot, so thankful for that, but we had a fun time.”
The performance of the day from the American side may have belonged to the U.S. Open champion, Wyndham Clark. Paired with Collin Morikawa, Clark rolled in a birdie on the par-4 1st to take the lead and never looked back. He penciled five birdies along with two timely birdies from his partner. It was Morikawa who delivered the dagger on the par-3 16th to win 3 & 2.
That is the same hole where the anchor match wrapped up as Tom Kim & Si Woo Kim — dubbed “The Brothers Kim” — seized control of their match against Patrick Cantlay & Chris Gotterup early and never let go. Tom Kim nearly made an ace on the par 3 to close out the match 3 & 2. The two are now 3-1-0 together in the Presidents Cup and 3-0-0 in the four-ball format.
While many assumed the U.S. would roll to an easy victory outside Chicago, the International team has made this thing interesting. With the foursomes format set for Friday — a session the International side swept in 2024 — the black and gold must be feeling good about its standing, while the United States may feel like it got away with some poor play heading into Day 2.
2026 Presidents Cup results, scores: Day 1
United States 3 | International: 2
Session 1 — Four-ball
| 1 | Min Woo Lee & Sungjae Im | 1 UP | Scottie Scheffler & Sam Burns | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Hideki Matsuyama & Ryo Hisatsune | 3 & 1 | Cameron Young & Xander Schauffele | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Corey Conners & Nico Echavarria | 4 & 3 | Justin Thomas & Jackson Koivun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Ryan Fox & Adam Scott | 3 & 2 | Wyndham Clark & Collin Morikawa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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