Field & Culture
Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah: How to Watch, Who Is Playing, What to Look For
Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah runs Sept. 24-27. Get confirmed teams, match formats, TV times and three storylines before Thursday’s Four-ball opener.
Presidents Cup 2026 starts Thursday at Medinah with an opening session that should tell us quickly whether the International Team can make this a contest. The United States arrives as the defending champion, holding a 13-1-1 all-time edge, but a 12-man field does not care much about history once five Four-ball matches go on the board.
Medinah Country Club’s Course No. 3, rebuilt by OCM and measuring 7,564 yards as a par 72, is a different test from the course remembered from 2012. It has more width, more sand and more decisions. Here is the current viewer’s guide to the teams, the format, the schedule and the handful of things that will matter most.
Presidents Cup 2026 schedule: day by day
The competition runs Thursday, September 24, through Sunday, September 27. Practice days are Tuesday and Wednesday, but the four competition days are what matter on the couch. All broadcast times below are Eastern Time, and the official event page notes that tee windows can change for format or weather.
Day Date Session Match start U.S. coverage Thursday Sept. 24 Round 1, five Four-ball matches 11:35 a.m. to 12:47 p.m. Golf Channel, 12:30 to 7 p.m. Friday Sept. 25 Round 2, five Foursomes matches 1:05 to 2:01 p.m. Golf Channel, 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday Sept. 26 Rounds 3 and 4, eight matches total, Four-ball and Foursomes split 7:02 to 7:56 a.m.; 1:15 to 1:57 p.m. NBC and Peacock, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday Sept. 27 Round 5, 12 Singles matches 11:02 a.m. to 1:19 p.m. NBC and Peacock, noon to 6 p.m.
The official schedule identifies Saturday’s morning and afternoon rounds, and the event FAQ confirms that Four-ball and Foursomes are split across those eight matches.
Who is playing at Presidents Cup 2026?
Brandt Snedeker’s U.S. side has six automatic qualifiers and six captain’s picks. Geoff Ogilvy built the International Team the same way. The lists below reflect the finalized rosters announced September 1, with concise context rather than a speculative power ranking.
United States, Captain Brandt Snedeker
| Player | Route | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | Automatic | World No. 1, making a third straight Presidents Cup start. |
| Cameron Young | Automatic | Returns after appearing on the 2022 U.S. Team. |
| Wyndham Clark | Automatic | Made his first Cup in 2024 and qualified third in the U.S. standings. |
| Sam Burns | Automatic | Two prior appearances, with a 3-3-3 Presidents Cup record. |
| Russell Henley | Automatic | Back after a 3-1-0 debut at Royal Montreal in 2024. |
| Collin Morikawa | Automatic | Brings a 6-2-0 record from two previous appearances. |
| Jacob Bridgeman | Captain’s pick | Genesis Invitational winner and a Presidents Cup debutant. |
| Patrick Cantlay | Captain’s pick | Three Cup appearances, with a 10-4-0 record. |
| Chris Gotterup | Captain’s pick | Three PGA Tour wins in 2026 and his first team event. |
| Jackson Koivun | Captain’s pick | Twenty-one-year-old 3M Open winner making his Cup debut. |
| Xander Schauffele | Captain’s pick | Three appearances and a 10-4-0 Presidents Cup record. |
| Justin Thomas | Captain’s pick | Experienced match-play presence, with a 10-3-2 Cup record. |
International Team, Captain Geoff Ogilvy
| Player | Route | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Si Woo Kim | Automatic | Qualified first and is making his fourth Presidents Cup appearance. |
| Ryan Fox | Automatic | 2026 Open champion making his first Presidents Cup start. |
| Hideki Matsuyama | Automatic | The team’s most seasoned player, now in his seventh Cup. |
| Min Woo Lee | Automatic | Returns after making his debut at Royal Montreal in 2024. |
| Tom Kim | Automatic | Back for a third appearance after playing in 2022 and 2024. |
| Adam Scott | Automatic | His 12th appearance extends one of the event’s great veteran runs. |
| Christiaan Bezuidenhout | Captain’s pick | Two prior Cups and 3.5 points earned in five prior matches. |
| Corey Conners | Captain’s pick | Canadian with two previous Presidents Cup appearances. |
| Nico Echavarria | Captain’s pick | Colombia’s third Presidents Cup representative and a debutant. |
| Ryo Hisatsune | Captain’s pick | Japan’s 23-year-old makes his first appearance after five 2026 top 10s. |
| Sungjae Im | Captain’s pick | Returns for a fourth time with a 6-7-2 Cup record. |
| Nick Taylor | Captain’s pick | Canadian debutant who made 21 cuts in 23 starts in 2026. |
How does Presidents Cup 2026 scoring work?
The Presidents Cup is 30 match-play points over four days. Every match is worth one point. A tied match after 18 holes gives each side a half-point, and there are no playoffs. The first team to 15.5 wins the Cup. If the score lands 15-15 after Sunday Singles, the teams share it.
Four-ball is the attacking format. Each player plays his own ball, and the better score on each side counts. Foursomes is alternate shot, which makes every loose tee ball and every bad handoff more expensive. Singles is 12 separate matches on Sunday, one for every player.
That is why a five-match opening session can alter the whole event without deciding it. A 4-1 edge on Thursday is a real asset. It is not a finish line, because 20 points remain after the first card is signed.
Medinah Course No. 3 rewards conviction, then precision
Course No. 3 is listed at 7,564 yards and par 72. The original Tom Bendelow design was reshaped by OCM in 2024 with larger greens, bigger-scale bunkers, wider fairways, more open sightlines and broad areas of long fescue rough.
That creates a useful match-play contrast. The added fairway width can invite aggressive drivers, but the larger bunkers and fescue punish shots that miss the intended side. On expanded greens, the best approach shot is not merely one that finds putting surface. It is the one that leaves an assertive birdie look or takes a dangerous hole location out of play.
Watch for captains to lean into players who can make a decision from the tee and stick to it. In alternate shot, that is a partnership skill. In Four-ball, it gives a team permission to send one player after a hole while the other protects par.
Three Presidents Cup 2026 storylines worth following
1. The first five Four-ball matches set the emotional temperature
Snedeker has made the choice plain: Thursday opens with Four-ball. It is the format that puts birdie-making combinations in the spotlight and lets captains show their instincts immediately. The lineup reveal matters because it is the first evidence of who each captain trusts to take an early punch.
2. The U.S. record is imposing, but Medinah asks a new question
The Americans won the 2024 Cup 18.5-11.5 and own a 13-1-1 series advantage. That is context, not a point on this week’s board. Ogilvy’s team has seven countries represented, three major champions among its automatic qualifiers and a mixture of established hands and first-timers who do not carry the old scoreboard with them.
3. New faces meet veteran partnership equity
Bridgeman, Gotterup and Koivun are U.S. debutants. Echavarria, Hisatsune and Taylor are new to the International Team. At the same time, Adam Scott enters his 12th Cup, Matsuyama his seventh, while Schauffele, Cantlay and Thomas have carried significant U.S. match-play loads before. Captains get to decide how quickly that experience gets paired with new energy.
How to watch Presidents Cup 2026
Golf Channel carries Thursday and Friday competition coverage, plus its nightly Live From the Presidents Cup shows. NBC and Peacock carry the long Saturday window and Sunday Singles. Golf Channel mobile and Peacock are listed as streaming options. For the latest tee windows and on-site schedule, use the official Presidents Cup schedule.
If your household is more used to April viewing, our guide on how to watch the Masters in 2026 has the same practical approach to coverage windows. For a wider itinerary beyond one week at Medinah, see our guide to the best golf destinations for 2026. ClickitGolf has also reported on the Lotto.com World Series of Golf partnership.
What the week should feel like
Presidents Cup 2026 is built for the fan who wants one clean entry point on Thursday. Start with Four-ball, keep the number 15.5 in view, and watch how Medinah’s new width turns into either green lights or bad angles. The teams are final. The pairings are still the drama.
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