The Presidents Cup, a biennial team showdown organized by the PGA Tour, pits the United States against a composite International side that represents every golf‑playing nation outside of Europe. First staged in 1994, the event alternates between venues in the United States and overseas locations, with past hosts ranging from Canada and South Korea to Australia and South Africa. After a brief scheduling clash with the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup returned to even‑numbered years to avoid overlap, since the Ryder Cup moved to odd years following its 2020 postponement due to the pandemic.
The 2026 edition is set for September 24‑27 at Medinah Country Club in Illinois, a storied course that previously staged the 2012 Ryder Cup as well as multiple U.S. Opens and PGA Championships. Looking ahead, the 2028 competition will travel to Kingston Heath Golf Club in Victoria, Australia, and the 2030 event will be held at Bellerive Country Club in Missouri.
Team USA’s qualification window opened in January 2025 and closed after the BMW Championship in August. Players earned points based on their PGA Tour performances, with the top six point‑earners gaining automatic spots. In 2025 each FedExCup point translated to one qualification point, while in the prior season the conversion factor was 1.5.
Points earned at The Players Championship or any major in 2026 will count double, reflecting the heightened importance of those tournaments. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler topped the U.S. leaderboard after capturing eight victories during the qualifying stretch.
He was followed by Players champion Cameron Young and U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark, with Sam Burns, Russell Henley and Collin Morikawa rounding out the automatic qualifiers. Captain Brandt Snedeker then exercised his captain’s picks, adding Jacob Bridgeman, Patrick Cantlay, Chris Gotterup, Jackson Koivun, Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas to complete the American roster.
The International Team’s qualification period ran from September 8, 2025, through the Tour Championship on August 30, 2026. Instead of FedExCup points, the International side relied on Official World Golf Ranking points to determine its six automatic qualifiers. South Korea’s Si Woo Kim led the list, earning his fourth Presidents Cup appearance, while New Zealander Ryan Fox secured his debut after winning The Open at Royal Birkdale.
Returning veterans Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee, Tom Kim and Adam Scott also made the cut. Geoff Ogilvy, the new International captain, filled the remaining slots with his six picks: Sungjae Im, Nico Echavarria, Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Ryo Hisatsune, creating a truly multinational squad. Snedeker, who served as a vice‑captain in the 2024 Presidents Cup and the 2025 Ryder Cup, stepped into the full‑time captain’s role for the United States.
At 45, he is supported by assistants Gary Woodland, Jim Furyk, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson. Across the pond, Australian legend Geoff Ogilvy took over the International captaincy for the first time, succeeding Mike Weir. His leadership team includes Trevor Immelman, Tim Clark, Taylor Pendrith and Camilo Villegas.
Historically, Team USA has dominated the competition, extending its streak to a record‑breaking ten consecutive victories after an 18.5‑11.5 win in the 2024 edition. The Americans captured 7.5 of the 12 points available in the final singles session, reinforcing a legacy that includes 13 wins out of 15 Cups. The International side has only avoided defeat twice—once in a tie in 2003 and a solitary victory in 1998—so they again enter as clear underdogs.
The format mirrors the Ryder Cup in many respects, featuring fourball, foursomes and singles matches, but with a slightly different distribution of matches across the four‑day schedule. Thursday’s opening round consists of fourball matches, where two players from each side play their own ball and the lower score of the pair counts for the hole. Friday features five foursomes matches, a true alternate‑shot format in which each team uses a single ball and players take turns hitting.
Saturday offers a double session of fourball matches followed by additional foursomes, and Sunday culminates in the singles, where every competitor faces an opponent from the other team in a head‑to‑head showdown. In total, 30 points are contested. The defending champions, Team USA, need 15 points to retain the Cup, while either side must reach 15.5 points to claim outright victory.
The competition is governed by the PGA Tour, which continues to bar LIV Golf participants from its events following the breakaway circuit’s launch in 2022. Notable LIV alumni such as Chile’s Joaquin Niemann—who finished third on the LIV season‑long leaderboard—and Australia’s Lucas Herbert have previously represented the International Team but are now ineligible. Former Open champions Cameron Smith and Louis Oosthuizen, as well as U.S.
star Bryson DeChambeau, also find themselves excluded under the current rules. Sky Sports will broadcast every session live. Thursday’s fourball coverage begins at 5:30 p.m.
UK time, with the first tee‑off at 5:35 p.m. (11:35 a.m. local time).
Friday’s foursomes start at 7:00 p.m. UK (1:05 p.m.
local), while Saturday’s morning fourball airs at 1:00 p.m. on Sky Sports+ and at 5:30 p.m.
on Sky Sports Golf, followed by afternoon foursomes at 7:00 p.m. Sunday’s singles kick off at 5:00 p.m. on Sky Sports Golf and run well beyond the final match. The Presidents Cup shares the Sky Sports lineup with the DP World Tour’s Open de France and the LPGA’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, the first LPGA event since the Solheim Cup.
Will the United States continue its unbroken run, or can the International contingent finally break through? Fans can watch the entire four‑day drama live on Sky Sports, or stream via Sky Sports’ contract‑free golf package.
The stage is set, the line‑ups are confirmed, and the world’s best golfers are ready to battle for the prestigious Presidents Cup trophy.