Presidents Cup: It’s a match, so far

Writing from Medinah, Illinois

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Any questions about the thirst of the golf fans of Chicago for big-time competition were answered before noon at Medinah Country Club on this slightly blustery day.

Spectators by the thousands first packed the first tee grandstand for the opening ceremony and first pairings in the 16th Presidents Cup, then strung out along the fairways for the five first-day matches.

If a menu that thin brought out a multitude estimated by this correspondent at about 18,000, imagine the weekend, when there will be a pair of sessions on Saturday and a full run of singles on Sunday.

The interest in the competition was the big question entering the week. The question then became whether or not the International squad could make it competitive.

So far, the answer is yes. The Americans hold a 3-2 lead going into Friday’s alternate shot competition, and it was nearly a 2.5-2.5 tie but for a late rally by the first pair out, Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns. Each birdied the par-4 17th – the third hole in the regular rotation on No. 3 – while Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im each bogeyed.

The teams of Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun, by 4 and 3 over Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria, and Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa by 3 and 2 over Ryan Fox and Adam Scott, also scored American victories.

The Internationals collected points in the 3 and 1 victory of Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune over Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele, and the 3 and 2 success of Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim over Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay.

The quality of play was high. Lee birdied the second through fifth holes and scored 4-under 66 – with the usual concessions – on the par-70 layout. Scheffler countered with a 65, his last birdie coming on the 14th hole. That was the only match to go the distance.

The margin was music to the ears of International captain Geoff Ogilvy, who recalled the last opening day in Montreal, a 5-0 American sweep.

“I saw a lot of good golf out there,” Ogilvy said. “Two-three their way is not too bad. We had a couple of really good solid matches there, and we had a match go up to 18, which would have been nice if it went the other way, but 2-3, we'll take that. The boys have a round under their belt now.

“It sounds like the course played a little tougher today than they were expecting, a little bit firmer. So we'll just get a plan for tomorrow and look forward to that.”

“We just did our best to stay in it,” Scheffler said of his match. “I felt like both teams got off to pretty hot starts today and we cooled off a little bit off that.”

Burns’ quality approach to 14 from 173 yards to inside three feet won that hole to square the match, and Scheffler’s 33-footer to tap-in range on the 17th put the U.S. duo ahead.

For American captain Brandt Snedeker, the opening session was a decent start.

“I saw those guys competing their asses off out there,” Snedeker said. “These guys know what they're doing, best golfers in the world. We're just going to get them in a position that we think they can be successful in and make sure they get plenty of rest. It's going to be a long week.”

Longer, perhaps, than those in the American contingent expected.

Kim-Kim combo clicks

The question Tom Kim had after his 3 and 2 win with Si Woo Kim was whether they would be paired together again.

“We've played in very high-pressure stakes before, and we've pulled off some and we've lost some,” Tom Kim said. “I think having that chemistry really works. Who knows if I'll see him again, but it's whatever Geoff really wants for us. I think him and I are very, I would say, easy to play with. Whoever we play with, as long as we trust them, we're just going to go along with the flow.

“If I get to see him tomorrow or maybe even Saturday, great. If I don't, then it's fine; I'm going to wish him the best, and we're going to do pretty well.”

Around Medinah

Unlike the 2012 Ryder Cup, when the opening ceremony flyover was cancelled because of an easterly wind affecting O’Hare flight paths, this time there was a flyover – with the same wind. Using Army helicopters at 250 feet instead of F-16s made it possible. … Jim Cornelison was in voice for “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and with the sound system on the first tee, you could hear him in Lombard. … The inevitable online complaints from viewers about the television coverage, whether it was a missed shot or too many commercials, began to appear before the last foursome was off the first tee.

– Tim Cronin

Presidents Cup – On Tap Thursday

Writing from Medinah, Illinois

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

After a great deal of palaver – which we have spared you – the Presidents Cup gets underway Thursday morning at Medinah Country Club on the much-revamped No. 3 Course.

Jim Cornelison will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” flags will be waved, and what is expected to be a large crowd will jostle for position to see five foursomes traipse around the course in search of birdies.

The American team is the heavy favorite, as it has beaten the International team 10 straight times and holds a 13-1-1 advantage since the series started in 1994. The 12-man American lineup is deeper than the World minus Europe side – Ryo Hisatsune? – so an 11th straight victory is expected. That run of success hasn’t created complacency among the American players but it has brought about the argument that the competition needs changes because it isn’t, well, competitive.

One argument is for making it co-ed, with six LPGA players and six PGA Tour players on each team. That could be fun, but there’s already a similar competition at the end of the year, and few pay much attention to it.

In reality, the Presidents Cup, aside from the volume of TV coverage and splendid marketing of corporate suites, is where the Ryder Cup was before the Europeans begin to beat the Americans in 1985. Nobody in the U.S. much cared until the Americans lost.

Could that happen at Medinah? Well, nobody expected the Euros to bounce back from a big deficit in 2012 – at Medinah – and the next thing you know, Tiger Woods was trudging up the 18th fairway knowing all was lost. It might be worth tuning into Golf Channel for a bit to see if the Internationals have a pulse.

Thursday’s best-ball matches (Internationals listed first):

11:35 a.m.: Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im vs. Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns

11:53 a.m.: Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune vs. Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele

12:11 p.m.: Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria vs. Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun

12:29 p.m.: Ryan Fox and Adam Scott vs. Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa

12:47 p.m.: Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim vs. Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay

Tim Cronin

Presidents Cup – A banner week

Writing from Medinah, Illinois

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

What is is about team golf – LIV excepted – that so captivates us?

It is because, contrived though it sometimes is, it harkens back to the team sports we watch most of the time?

It is because when Old Glory is unfurled, many hearts flutter?

It is because it’s just different from the week-in, week-out thrum of professional golf, where one tournament, usually sponsored by a beer, a bank, or a car, almost always looks like the one before and the one to come?

Maybe it’s all of that. Maybe it’s also something else.

Maybe it’s because when there’s a cup on the line – Presidents this week, Ryder, Solheim, Walker and Curtis on others – there’s no money on the line. No purse, no oversized check, nothing but pride and the fear of letting down the team as motivating factors.

Maybe that’s it. A dozen guys or gals, all dressed alike, all for one and one for all, until the last putt drops on Sunday afternoon. It brings about butterflies the size of pterodactyls in some stomachs and empties others, with not a shilling to be earned, unless an endorsement comes along later.

This is pure golf, and it’s closer to the game most of us play – a brew or a buck or three on the line, and do you mind if I press at the turn? – than the weekly scrap for $20 million, which for the elite might as well be Monopoly money at this point.

So here we are at Medinah, a century old and sporting a new-look No. 3 course to go with the clubhouse that has a 14th century look to it. The Presidents Cup starts Thursday, the Americans, guided on this occasion by Brandt Snedeker, are heavily favored as always – with a 13-1-1 record against the Internationals, they’re the golf equivalent of Secretariat in this race – and thousands are expected to attend to gawk at the six new holes designed by Geoff Ogilvy and his associates, and to root against Ogilvy’s International dozen. More about the redesign later this week.

Fourteen years ago, Ogilvy will surely whisper into the ears of his charges, the European Ryder Cup team had no chance against the Americans on Sunday afternoon, until they did, and the tables turned more quickly than the skywriting planes could write “S-E-V-E” into the clear September skies.

That final three hours on Sunday was the most exciting golf this correspondent has had the good fortune to cover. Will the coming Sunday come close to matching it? Only the golf gods know, and they’re not telling.

Tim Cronin

Svoboda takes Illinois PGA in playoff

Writing from Elgin, Illinois

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Andy Svoboda was leaking oil.

Leader of the 105th Illinois PGA Championship by three strokes after the first round, leader by five on the front nine, leader by four at the turn, the teaching pro at Elevation Golf heard the footsteps and saw the exploits of Mistwood’s Andy Mickelson on the back nine of hilly Elgin Country Club, where sherpas go to caddie.

Mickelson birdied the 10th and 12th holes, then chipped in for eagle from 60 feet on the par-5 14th to cut Svoboda’s lead to a stroke.

Two holes later, Svoboda overshot the 128-yard par-3 16th and was fortunate to salvage a bogey. Mickelson got up and down for par, and they remained so through the final putt to force a three-hole playoff, tying at 7-under 209.

“I’m lucky it wasn’t a one-hole playoff,” said Svoboda after outlasting Mickelson 12-13 in the cross-country excursion to capture $11,500. “I just kind of hung in there and got lucky in the playoff.”

He bogeyed the first hole, the par-3 ninth, but led by a stroke after two holes when Mickelson bogeyed the nefarious par-5 10th while Svoboda birdied. When Mickelson missed a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th, the last of the three holes, and Svoboda three-putted, it was handshake time.

Mickelson, who trailed by three starting the final round, said his mindset changed as the back nine played out.

“The birdie on 12 (to go 5-under) changed my mindset,” Mickelson said. “In my head, now I’ve made the club pro. That’s always the worry when you’re playing in this thing. I had a lipout on 13, but the golf gods paid me back on 14. I made a perfect chip there, a couple skids and it went in.

“It was fun.”

For Svoboda, who won three Met Opens while in New York, it was a payoff a couple years in the waiting. He tied for 21st (with Mickelson) last year at Beverly Country Club, tied for third (again with Mickelson) two years ago at Elgin.

“I knew it was going to be pressure-packed just to have a good day with the lead,” Svoboda. “I was making a lot of pars, not really doing anything. It wasn’t pretty, but I made a bunch of good two-putts at the end.

“I like trophies. I’ve been close. This year, I’ve been lucky. This is the pinnacle of the year, to win this – and get into the national club pro.”

Host pro Jonathan Duppler was one of eight players to advance to next year’s national club pro championship, from which the top 20 advance to the PGA Championship. He came up six strokes sort in bidding to be the first host pro to win the section championship since Shelby Futch of Twin Orchard in 1975. Along with Svoboda and Mickelson, Mike Small, Brian Carroll, Kevin Flack, Jim Billiter and Jeff Kellen advanced.

Of the 111 finishers, Inverness's Rick Sargent brought up the rear, adding a 91 to his opening 89 for 36-over 180.

– Tim Cronin

Clark plays Superman at Bellerive

Writing from Town and Country, Missouri

Sunday, August 23, 2026

If someone can be in a rut and 14-under-par at the same time, Wyndham Clark was that person at Bellerive Country Club on Sunday.

The leader by five strokes entering the final round of the BMW Championship, he squandered those strokes over the first 10 holes, and was tied first with Patrick Cantlay and then, for five long holes, with Rory McIlroy, his fellow competitor in the final twosome.

“I just really didn't have my stuff mentally,” Clark said after a trio of birdies on the final three holes to finish at 17-under-par 263 hold off Cantlay by three strokes, McIlroy by four to take the title and the $3.6 million that goes with it. “Not that my game was off, I just kind of wasn't focused and just was making some dumb mistakes. Didn't make any putts.

“It's hard to keep your focus for four straight days,” Clark continued. “I think sometimes when you have a 5-shot lead the mindset going in (is) you fast forward, you just want to be on the last few holes, right? So the hardest thing is to stay in the present. I just kind of was quick mentally. Not that I was necessarily moving quick, I just was kind of making decisions quick, didn't have my targets as locked in as maybe I wanted. Then putting, over the ball I was kind of unsure on some reads. So I just, yeah, I just wasn't focused kind of the first, I would say really the first eight holes.”

Such introspection came in depth and without angst because Clark snapped out of it with vigor on the green of the par-3 16th hole, sinking a 16 foot 8 inch putt for his first birdie of the day after telling McIlroy, who wasn’t sure who was away, that he would go first.

“I thought putting that shot roughly the same distance as him was a big deal,” Clark said of his high-cut 5-iron from 232 yards. “I wouldn't call it poor gamesmanship, but when it gets close to who is who, sometimes there's strategy in who goes first. Earlier in the day Rory was going first and made putts on me, and then I missed.

“So then when we got up to 16 we kind of didn't know who it was and I said, It's me. So I went, made the putt. Whether that did anything or not, sometimes putting the pressure on the guy can be difficult. So I thought that was a big thing for the momentum for me to make that putt and kind of put the pressure on him to make his.”

He was pleased to hear was indeed more distant from the cup – by 11 inches. “OK, good! No arm, no foul,” he said to the news.

“I dropped that putt on 16 and it propelled me to the last two birdies,” Clark said.

Yep, three birds in succession, and with a pro-McIlroy gallery that totaled 40,000 finally giving him his due, to capture the championship everyone in the morning thought was a lock for Clark. Then golf happened.

A two-shot swing on the first hole, cutting Clark’s lead over McIlroy from five to three. A failed up-and-down on the devilish par-3 sixth. A lipped-out birdie try at the ninth. Then a bogey on No. 10, and the lead was gone.

“But I kept telling myself, hey, if you told me before the week with 10 holes to go I would have a one- or two-shot lead, I would take it,” Clark said. “If I was tied with six holes to go, I would take it, regardless of what happened coming into the day. I think that helped keep me in the moment. Rather than being bummed, kind of look at it as an opportunity.”

It took until the 16th fo him to take advantage. He next ran down a 13-foot birdie putt on the 607-yard 17th after driving into the left fairway bunker, moving three ahead when McIlroy bogeyed. A 17-footer at the last after a 299-yard drive guaranteed a visit with the J.K. Wadley Trophy.

He also received a verbal bouquet from McIlroy.

“I always felt like I needed to just get my nose ahead to really try to put the pressure on Wyndham, and I couldn’t,” McIlroy said. “We were tied there for a few holes, and then when he made that putt on 16 for 2 and I couldn't answer, that was obviously a huge moment in the round and in the tournament.”

And, perhaps, in the player of the year race. Clark now has three wins this season (the U.S. Open and the Byron Nelson before Sunday) and is third in the standings. If he wins the Tour Championship, maybe some players vote for him instead of favorite Scottie Scheffler.

“Wyndham doing what he did today, yeah, next week will make things interesting,” McIlroy said.

Cantlay, in jumping to the Tour Championship field with his finish, made it as interesting as he could, sinking a 4-foot birdie putt on the 10th to tie Clark, then rallying after a couple of bogeys to match Clark with three birdies at the end to grab solo second.

“I feel like I did a lot of really good things this week,” Cantlay said. “I hit the ball really well. I hit a lot of quality shots, a lot of quality wedges. Especially the way I finished to birdie those last three holes, it's really nice momentum going into next week.”

That being East Lake in Atlanta and the Tour Championship, where there will be much to be decided.

Scheffler’s travails

In retrospect, Scottie Scheffler’s 12th place finish was amazing. Previously admitting to only being under the weather, he explained Sunday he had hand, foot and mouth disease, probably caught from one of his two youngsters, and was advised not to play.

The defending champion, Scheffler opened with a 2-over 72 and came back with three under-par rounds to finish at 7-under 273.

“I’m proud of how I’ve felt,” Scheffler said. “Feel like I'm starting to heal up. My throat is still bugging me pretty good. But my hands feel normal today. I actually almost caught myself shaking hands with Cam on 18, I would have felt really bad. So that's good news, starting to feel better. Hopefully the throat will clear up the next couple days.” 

Fever, mouth sores and blisters on feet and hands are the symptoms. For Scheffler, the hand blisters were the worst.

“To start the week it was pretty painful to grip the club,” Scheffler said. “If I was smarter maybe I would have pulled out, but I was playing so good I felt like if I could knock it out quickly and just get through the first couple rounds I would still have a chance. I think that's part of my stubbornness, probably. That's probably a strength of mine and a weakness at times.

“I've never been one to ever pull out of a tournament, especially in the middle of it. That's really frustrating for me. I definitely didn't want to do that going into this week, even though it was suggested.”

He expects to feel better with a couple days of rest and play in the Tour Championship.

The East Lake Derby

Gary Woodland’s tie for fourth place helped him advance to the Tour Championship. He climbed from 31st to 18th in the standings. Cantlay moved from 43rd to 19th to get in and Robert MacIntyre (tie for seventh) went from 36th to 25th to get safely in the top 30. Out and sitting at home are Kurt Kitayama (T26, 28th to 31th), Rickie Fowler (T37, 30th to 33rd) and Bud Cauley (T44, 29th to 34th).

Around Bellerive

Clark is the first player since Dustin Johnson in 2016 to win both the U.S. Open and Western Open / BMW in the same year. Johnson was the first to do so since Jack Nicklaus in 1967. … Scheffler led the half-dozen Americans locked into the Presidents Cup at the close of play. Cameron Young, Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Henley and Collin Morikawa round out the first six. There will be six more captain’s picks after the Tour Championship. … The par-70 course played to 69.5 strokes on Sunday, highest average of the week (68.885 across four rounds). … Next year's championship, the 124th in a run that began in 1899, will be at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey, across from Manhattan and in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.

– Tim Cronin