2026 Presidents Cup: Internationals Take Early Lead Over United States

The 2026 Presidents Cup continues on Friday at Medinah Country Club just outside Chicago, where the United States hopes to maintain its dominance in the event. The U.S. team has won 13 of the previous 15 Presidents Cups, including 10 in a row coming into this year, and the Americans are once again the heavy favorites to lift the cup.

On the other side, the International squad faces an uphill battle as it looks to pull off the upset to win its second Presidents Cup -- first on American soil. CBS Sports covers all the possibilities with a breakdown of the 24 players from both teams ahead of the biennial event.

While the U.S. side looks far stronger on paper, it faces plenty of pressure to live up to those expectations. Anything less than a comfortable victory will be seen as a letdown for captain Brandt Snedeker's group, and some of the stars on the U.S. team are desperate to prove themselves in team competition after last year's struggle at the Ryder Cup.

No one faces higher expectations than Scottie Scheffler. The world No. 1 entered with a poor record in team competitions, including a 3-5-1 mark at the Presidents Cup. Perhaps most surprising is Scheffler's 0-2-0 record in singles matches, and with questions about his ability to be the dominant force the United States needs, he will want to show out at Medinah this week.

The International side, meanwhile, is just looking to find its footing in the event, particularly on U.S. soil. It has lost by at least three points in every road Presidents Cup since 1996 (one-point loss), and the Internationals are on the heels of back-to-back lopsided defeats. Captain Geoff Ogilvy will need his top players to be at their absolute best and someone to break out as an unexpected hero to pull off a shocker at Medinah, but the magic of sports is that's always a possibility.

Things took a dramatic turn on Friday when the Internationals swept all five matches in foursomes to take a 7-3 lead. It's the biggest deficit the Americans have faced in this competition since 1998, which was the lone time they have lost to the Internationals.

Now, things heat up in a big way on Saturday, where there are two sessions scheduled. The morning will return to the four-ball format while the afternoon is set for foursomes. It all leads to Sunday where every member of each team takes to the course for singles play to determine the winner.

2026 Presidents Cup format, rules

The Presidents Cup features five match sessions over four days of competition, providing an additional day of play compared to the Ryder Cup, which packs four sessions into the first two days. The first two sessions feature five matches with Snedeker opting to begin with four-ball on Thursday and then play foursomes on Friday.

Saturday is broken up into a morning and afternoon session with four matches in each, starting with four-ball and concluding with foursomes. Sunday brings the event to a close with 12 singles matches with it all adding up to 30 points -- two more than the Ryder Cup -- to determine a winner.

Four-ball: Two-man teams representing each side square off against one another. Each of the four golfers plays their own ball, and the lowest score between the two players for each team counts for the hole. The two scores not chosen get thrown out.

Foursomes: Two-man teams representing each side square off against one another. However, the golfers must alternate hitting the same ball until it is holed. For example: If Player A hits the tee shot on No. 1, that means he will hit all the tee shots on odd-numbered holes and approach shots on even-numbered holes. Player B will tee off on all the even-numbered holes and hit approach shots on odd-numbered holes. There is more strategy involved here, as the player teeing off on the odd holes will strike the tee shots on three of the par 3s at Medinah No. 3.

Singles: Only played in Sunday's final round. Singles consist of 12 one-on-one matches played over the course of the day.

2026 Presidents Cup scoring

Event: Each match is worth 1 point. Matches ending in a tie result in each side receiving 0.5 points. The first team to reach 15.5 points over the three days of play wins the Presidents Cup. If the 30 matches end in a 15-15 tie, both teams will share the Presidents Cup as co-champions.

Matches: Each hole is scored independently with the lowest score winning. If both teams or players have the same score on a hole, the hole is considered tied with no advantage awarded.

As the teams or players advance through the round, the lead will grow or shrink based on who wins each hole. For example: If Team/Player A wins the first two holes, they would hold a 2 UP lead. If Team/Player B then wins the third hole, Team/Player A's lead reduces to 1 UP.

Matches can end early if the winning team or player has a larger lead than the number of holes left to play. For example: If Team A is 4 UP with three holes remaining, it wins the match 4&3.

Concessions: Unlike stroke-play golf, teams or players do not need to complete each hole. Strokes (usually putts) may be conceded by the opponent if they are deemed highly makable or if attempting the stroke will not result in winning or tying the hole.

2026 Presidents Cup teams

Automatic qualifiers

United States (OWGR)Internationals (OWGR)

Scottie Scheffler (1)

Si Woo Kim (14)

Cameron Young (3)

Ryan Fox (22)

Wyndham Clark (5)

Hideki Matsuyama (27)

Sam Burns (8)

Min Woo Lee (30)

Russell Henley (6)

Tom Kim (31)

Collin Morikawa (11)

Adam Scott (45)

Captain's picks

United States (OWGR)Internationals (OWGR)

Chris Gotterup (7)

Corey Conners (55)

Xander Schauffele (10)

Nico Echavarria (61)

Justin Thomas (25)

Sungjae Im (60)

Jacob Bridgeman (20)

Ryo Hisatsune (67)

Patrick Cantlay (28)

Nick Taylor (85)

Jackson Koivun (57)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout (104)

2026 Presidents Cup schedule

All times Eastern

Saturday, Sept. 26

Round 3 (four-ball): 8:02 a.m.

Round 4 (foursomes): 2:15 p.m.

Live TV coverage: 8-9 a.m. on Golf Channel | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on NBC, Fubo (Try for free)

Live stream: 8 a.m. 9 a.m. on GolfChannel.com | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Peacock

Sunday, Sept. 27

Round 5 (singles): 12:02 p.m.