Scheffler and Burns finally win
together and stake Americans to 3-2 lead in Presidents Cup
[September 25, 2026]
By DOUG FERGUSON
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) — Best of friends in golf, winless as partners in
team play, Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns looked like that dubious
drought might continue Thursday in the Presidents Cup.
Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im had the advantage on four straight holes
along the back nine and finally converted for a 1-up lead. And then
the Americans took over at just the right time. Burns hit an 8-iron
to 2 feet on the 14th. Scheffler closed out the International side
with a superb bunker shot on the 18th to secure par for a 1-up
victory.
The lead fourballs match was the swing match as the Americans took a
3-2 lead.
“We certainly haven’t had the results that we’ve hoped for,” Burns
said. “I feel like at times in the past we’ve played pretty well and
just gotten beat. So it probably just was a little bit of a sigh of
relief to finally get a point and just kind of let that out.”
It was the ninth time in the last 10 Presidents Cup the Americans
won the opening session in a competition they have turned into an
exhibition with 10 straight victories and only one loss since these
matches began in 1994.
The Internationals showed plenty of fighting spirit, right down to
the last hole in the lead match. Both captains came away pleased.
“A session win is a session win. We’re going to take it any way we
can get it,” Snedeker said.
“We would have loved to have won the session,” International captain
Geoff Ogilvy said. “But 2-3, we had a chat when we got back to the
room, and I’m proud of the boys and I’m proud of how they played
today. They’re all pretty excited to get out there tomorrow.”
Five matches of foursomes are scheduled for Friday at Medinah
Country Club. Burns and Scheffler are out first against Canadians
Corey Conners and Nick Taylor.
Jackson Koivun also wasted little time getting a point on the board.
The 21-year-old Koivun, who turned pro just over three months ago,
teamed with Justin Thomas in a 4-and-3 victory over Conners and Nico
Echavarria, who managed only three birdies in the easier better-ball
format.
Burns already delivered one big moment by making an 18-foot birdie
putt on the par-3 ninth with Lee in tight for a sure birdie. But his
8-iron from 172 yards on the 14th swung momentum so much that
Scheffler called it the “shot of the match.”
“I was basically out of the hole after my second shot. Sam was
essentially was playing two-on-one there,” Scheffler said. “So for
him to step up there and hit a really nice shot, I think you can
definitely feel the momentum. He was put in a tough spot there, and
he responded the way he knows how.”
[to top of second column] |
USA teams' Scottie Scheffler reacts to making his birdie putt on the
first hole against the International teams during the first round
four-ball match at the Presidents Cup golf tournament at Medinah
Country Club, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP
Photo/Matt Slocum)
The Internationals picked up two wins behind Hideki
Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune — the first time for two Japanese
players in the Presidents Cup since 1998 — and Tom Kim and Si Woo
Kim in the anchor match.
“It’s been a long time. I’ve been waiting for another guy from Japan
to come play with me, and I was really happy today,” Matsuyama said.
The Americans got their other win behind Wyndham Clark and Collin
Morikawa, who never trailed against Adam Scott and Ryan Fox in a
3-and-2 win.
For so much of a cloudy afternoon at Medinah, two wins apiece looked
certain for the Americans and the Internationals. Up for grabs was
the opening match, which was tight the entire way.
Scheffler and Burns, 0-3-1 as partners in the Presidents Cup and
Ryder Cup, birdied the opening four holes. The Internationals ran
off four straight birdies of their own to square the match through
five holes. It was clear for so much of the day this would decide
who had the lead.
Im and Lee, whose putting hurt them along the back nine, each missed
par putts on the 17th to fall behind. Lee went long of the green,
and Im gassed his 40-foot birdie putt some 15 feet by the hole. They
couldn't catch up on the closing hole.
Koivun is the first player to win a Walker Cup point and a
Presidents Cup point just over a year apart. He was part of Auburn's
NCAA title team in June. He won his first PGA Tour title in the 3M
Open in his third start. And now he's part of a dominant American
team.
He said he told Thomas that “once I get my first tee shot out of the
way, I’m going to be good.” His second tee shot went out-of-bounds,
though Thomas saved it with a beautiful bunker shot to halve the
hole. Koivun's wedge to 7 feet for birdie on the par-5 sixth gave
them a 3-up lead, and the Internationals never seriously threatened
the rest of the way.
Thomas improved to 7-0 in fourballs at the Presidents Cup.
“First two holes, definitely a little shaky,” Koivun said. “But
after that kind of found a groove. Me and J.T., we played really
well out there. He picked me up when I didn’t play too hot, so
thankful for that, but we had a fun time.”
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