Team USA opened their campaign for an 11th straight Presidents Cup with a confident 3-2 advantage after Thursday's four‑ball matches at Medinah Country Club, setting the tone for a tightly contested showdown against the International side. Although Brandt Snedeker’s American squad has traditionally dominated this biennial event, the opening day proved far from a walkover.
The International contingent managed to capture two of the five points on offer, demonstrating that the gap between the two teams is narrower than many pundits anticipated. World number one Scottie Scheffler finally broke his winless streak in the Presidents Cup, teaming up with Sam Burns to eke out a nail‑biting triumph on the 18th hole against South Korea’s Min Woo Lee and Korea & Japan’s Sungjae Im. Their victory came on the heels of a commanding 4&3 win by Justin Thomas and rookie Jackson Koivun, who outplayed Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria. The all‑Japanese duo of Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune also delivered a solid performance, beating Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele 3&1.
In the final match of the session, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa dispatched Ryan Fox and Adam Scott 3&2, sealing the United States’ three‑point haul for the day. Historically, the United States has held the lead after the first day in nine of the last ten Presidents Cups, a trend that continued despite a brief surge from Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim, who clawed back a point by beating Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay 3&2 in the bottom match. The headline showdown featured Scheffler and Burns versus Lee and Im.
Scheffler opened the match with a 15‑foot birdie on the first hole, quickly establishing momentum. Burns answered Lee’s spectacular off‑green putt with a 10‑foot birdie of his own, and the two sides exchanged birdies over the next two holes, keeping the contest tightly knit. Im seized a birdie on the fifth, while both teams posted two‑under‑par scores on the par‑three ninth. Burns then holed a near‑20‑foot putt after Lee’s tee shot landed close, but the Internationals missed several opportunities to seize the lead thereafter.
The turning point arrived on the 13th when Im converted a 10‑foot birdie, only for Burns to respond immediately with a short‑range birdie on the 14th. The match remained dead‑locked until the International pair bogeyed the 17th, handing the hole—and the momentum—back to Team USA. On the final hole, Scheffler executed a spectacular splash‑out from a greenside bunker, landing the ball within inches of the cup and securing a par that clinched the first-ever Presidents Cup (or Ryder Cup) win for the Scheffler‑Burns partnership.
"We just did our best to stay in it," Scheffler reflected. "Both teams started hot, then cooled a bit. Sam hit probably the shot of the match on 14.
We were down 13, then he hit a shot that landed a couple of feet away. That was a huge moment for us, and he stepped up when we needed him." Justin Thomas extended his flawless Presidents Cup four‑ball record, partnering 21‑year‑old rookie Jackson Koivun in a seamless display that never saw them trail. The pair surged ahead with three consecutive hole wins from the third through the fifth, weathered a brief setback when Corey Conners claimed the seventh, and then re‑asserted control as Thomas birdied the 14th and 15th to lock in a seventh straight four‑ball victory for the United States.
"It was fun to be out there with him and watching him do his thing," Thomas said. "He's incredibly impressive, and I'm thrilled to have him on my team. Seeing him rise in big moments was a real pleasure." On the opposite side, the International captain Geoff Ogilvy praised the quality of play despite the loss.
"We saw a lot of good golf out there. Some matches were solid, and we even pushed one to 18 holes.
It would have been nice if it had gone the other way, but we’ll take the 3‑2 result." In the bottom match, Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim squandered an early two‑hole lead before regaining control with back‑to‑back wins on the 13th and 14th. Gotterup kept the match alive with a long‑range par on the 15th, yet Tom Kim’s tee shot on the 16th landed in tap‑in range, allowing the International side to clinch another point.
Looking ahead, Team USA must capture an additional 12 points to retain the Presidents Cup, or 12.5 points to extend their winning streak, with 25 points still up for grabs—including five in Friday’s foursomes session. United States captain Brandt Snedeker expressed pride in his squad’s performance. "I saw those guys competing their asses off out there. I’m really proud of them.
A session win is a session win—we’ll take it however we can. I’m thrilled for Scottie and Sam to secure that big win and give us a strong start. This is a long week, and we have four more sessions, but I’m proud of how we began." The battle for the Presidents Cup continues with live coverage of Friday’s foursomes scheduled for 7 pm on Sky Sports Golf.
Fans can stream the action via Sky Sports or other platforms, and can also explore discounted rates for tee times at over 1,700 courses across the UK and Ireland.