Presidents Cup: Team USA Rallies from Three Down on Sunday to Win 17-13 at Medinah — Biggest Final-Day Comeback in Event History
The United States retained the Presidents Cup in the most dramatic fashion imaginable on Sunday, Sept. 27, beating the International Team 17-13 at Medinah Country Club after trailing by three points entering the singles. Brandt Snedeker's side needed eight points from the final 12 matches to avoid a first defeat since 1998 — and won a record 9.5 points in the session, completing "the biggest final-day comeback in Presidents Cup history." It's the 11th consecutive Presidents Cup for the U.S., who have won every edition since 2005.
How it unfolded: Cameron Young (3&2 over Ryo Hisatsune), Justin Thomas (5&3 over Corey Conners) and Scottie Scheffler won early, but Tom Kim (3&2 over Wyndham Clark) and Sungjae Im kept the Internationals in front. Then Chris Gotterup, Patrick Cantlay (a 57-foot birdie in a 2&1 win over Adam Scott) and Collin Morikawa — 1up when Hideki Matsuyama bogeyed the last — flipped the ledger. The clinching sequence belonged to the kids and the clutch: 21-year-old rookie Jackson Koivun, the only unbeaten American all week, came back from 2-down to beat Si Woo Kim 2up, and debutant Jacob Bridgeman, 1-down with three to play, beat Min Woo Lee on the final hole to guarantee the trophy.
Snedeker invoked the building's haunted history: "I told the guys last night that funny stuff happens here. Medinah has a history of funny things happening... I cannot get over what Jackson Koivun did today. I put him in a really tough spot out there... He went out there and looked like the stud we know he's going to be." International captain Geoff Ogilvy: "It's a very difficult thing to beat the United States in singles in the US."
Off the course: President Trump attended Sunday's final round as honorary chairman, and police made at least five arrests during protests and counterprotests near Medinah. The takeaway for both tours — per AP's post-event framing — is that the Presidents Cup result matters mainly as a measuring stick for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland (Sept. 17-19, 2027), where Luke Donald's Europe awaits. Scheffler finished as the U.S.'s joint-top scorer despite being angered by a spectator yelling in Nico Echavarria's backswing at the 14th.