There are certain golf courses that seem destined to produce something more than ordinary competition. Medinah Country Club is one of them. On a stirring Sunday outside Chicago, the United States added another remarkable chapter to the club’s match-play history, overcoming a three-point deficit to defeat the International Team, 17–13, and capture the 2026 Presidents Cup. The victory was the Americans’ 11th consecutive triumph in the competition and perhaps one of their most memorable.
MEDINAH, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 27: Members of the U.S. Team cheer on the 18th green after the U.S. Team wins during Sunday’s Singles on day four of the Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah Country Club on September 27, 2026 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
For three days, such an ending appeared anything but certain. The International Team had arrived at Medinah determined to change the familiar narrative surrounding the Presidents Cup. After the United States claimed a narrow advantage on Thursday, the visitors responded emphatically Friday, sweeping all five foursomes matches and taking control of the competition. By Saturday evening, the Internationals still held a 10½–7½ advantage, leaving the Americans with considerable work ahead.
Sunday singles, however, has a way of changing everything. Under captain Brandt Snedeker, the United States sent much of its strength out early, hoping to put red on the scoreboard and awaken a home gallery waiting for reason to believe. The response was immediate. Cameron Young opened with a victory, and soon Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns were adding points of their own.
MEDINAH, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 27: Cameron Young of the U.S. Team reacts to his putt to win his match 3&2 on the 16th green during Sunday’s Singles on day four of the Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah Country Club on September 27, 2026 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Across Medinah’s famed No. 3 Course, the atmosphere began to change. What had been an International celebration in waiting slowly became an American charge. Red numbers appeared across the boards, cheers rolled through the trees, and the pressure that had rested squarely on the shoulders of the home side began moving in the opposite direction.
By afternoon, Medinah had once again become the setting for a Sunday comeback. Collin Morikawa turned his match against Hideki Matsuyama and eventually won 1 up. Patrick Cantlay defeated Adam Scott, 2 and 1. But perhaps no performance better captured the afternoon than that of 21-year-old Jackson Koivun. Playing in his first Presidents Cup, the young American displayed the composure of a veteran, defeating Si Woo Kim, 2 up, and moving the United States to the brink of victory.
MEDINAH, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 27: Jackson Koivun of the U.S. Team plays his shot from the third tee during Sunday’s Singles on day four of the Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah Country Club on September 27, 2026 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The decisive moment ultimately belonged to another Presidents Cup rookie. Jacob Bridgeman arrived at the 18th hole locked in a tight match with Min Woo Lee. When Bridgeman secured the final hole and a 1-up victory, the point the Americans needed was theirs. Teammates poured onto the green, the galleries erupted, and a comeback that had appeared improbable only hours earlier was complete.
The final singles tally was extraordinary: United States 9½, International Team 2½. It represented the largest final-day comeback victory in Presidents Cup history. Yet the final score hardly tells the complete story. The International Team, captained by Geoff Ogilvy, had produced three days of inspired golf and pushed the Americans into a position they had rarely experienced in this event. For much of the week, the possibility of ending the United States’ long dominance seemed very real.
MEDINAH, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 27: Captain Brandt Snedeker of the U.S. Team shakes hands with Captain Geoff Ogilvy of Australia and the International Team ahead of the trophy ceremony after the U.S. Team won 17-13 following Sunday’s Singles on day four of the Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah Country Club on September 27, 2026 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
That made Sunday all the more compelling. The Presidents Cup has occasionally searched for the tension and theater that define golf’s finest team competitions. At Medinah, it found both. The format transformed familiar individual stars into teammates, rookies into unexpected heroes and a historic golf course into a stage where momentum seemed capable of changing with every putt.
For Snedeker, there was an additional layer of history. He had been a member of the American Ryder Cup team at Medinah in 2012, when Europe famously erased a four-point Sunday deficit to win. Fourteen years later, as captain of the United States Presidents Cup team, Snedeker watched the comeback unfold in the other direction.
MEDINAH, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 27: Captain Brandt Snedeker of the U.S. Team lifts the trophy after their 17-13 win during the trophy ceremony following the Sunday’s Singles on day four of the Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah Country Club on September 27, 2026 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Golf has a long memory, and Medinah seems to have an especially good one. The United States leaves Illinois with another Presidents Cup, extending its remarkable record in the competition to 14 victories, one loss and one tie. But statistics alone will not define the 2026 matches. This one will be remembered for a Sunday when the outcome seemed to turn by the minute, when young players rose to the occasion and when an American team facing defeat rediscovered its finest golf precisely when it needed it most. Once again, Medinah provided the setting. And once again, Sunday provided the drama.