The 2026 Presidents Cup shifts gears Friday at Medinah Country Club, and a narrow opening-day advantage for Team USA leaves plenty at stake in the second session.
The Americans lead the International Team 3-2 after Thursday’s five four-ball matches, but Friday brings a completely different format. Five foursomes, or alternate-shot, matches will determine the next five points before the competition accelerates with two sessions Saturday and 12 singles matches Sunday.
Both captains made notable changes to their lineups. U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker will sit Thursday rookie partners Jackson Koivun and Chris Gotterup, while Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman make their first appearances of the week.
International captain Geoff Ogilvy is sitting Ryo Hisatsune and Nico Echavarria while bringing Nick Taylor and Christiaan Bezuidenhout into the competition.
Scheffler and Burns Get Another Chance Together
2:05 p.m. ET – Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns vs. Corey Conners/Nick Taylor
Snedeker isn’t changing his opening act. Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns will lead Team USA onto the course for a second consecutive day after surviving Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im, 1 up, Thursday.
That victory was significant for two close friends who had struggled to convert their previous opportunities as a partnership. But Friday provides another test: Scheffler and Burns entered this Presidents Cup 0-3 together in foursomes.
Ogilvy counters with an all-Canadian combination of Corey Conners and Nick Taylor. Conners played Thursday alongside Echavarria in a 4&3 loss to Justin Thomas and Koivun, while Taylor will be making his first appearance at Medinah.
Henley and Bridgeman Go Straight Into a Difficult Assignment
2:19 p.m. ET – Russell Henley/Jacob Bridgeman vs. Sungjae Im/Hideki Matsuyama
Henley, the world’s No. 6-ranked player, and Bridgeman both sat during the opening four-ball session. The rest could be particularly useful for Bridgeman after he played 72 holes the previous week and won Sunday in Asheville.
Across from them will be Sungjae Im and Hideki Matsuyama. Matsuyama helped earn one of the International Team’s two points Thursday alongside Hisatsune, while Im lost a tight opening match with Lee against Scheffler and Burns.
There is also history behind this International combination. Im and Matsuyama produced a dominant 7&6 foursomes victory over Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay at the 2024 Presidents Cup.
Clark and Morikawa Stay Together After Thursday Win
2:33 p.m. ET – Wyndham Clark/Collin Morikawa vs. Ryan Fox/Min Woo Lee
Snedeker saw no reason to separate Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa after their 3&2 victory against Ryan Fox and Adam Scott on Thursday.
The challenge is that their roles will be dramatically different Friday. Four-ball allowed Clark and Morikawa to play their own balls, meaning one player could rescue a hole when his partner ran into trouble. Alternate shot removes that safety net.
Fox gets another opportunity against the same American duo, this time alongside Min Woo Lee. Lee was part of Thursday’s closest match, reaching the 18th with Im before Scheffler and Burns closed out their 1-up victory.
Justin Thomas Gets a New Partner
2:47 p.m. ET – Justin Thomas/Cameron Young vs. Adam Scott/Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Justin Thomas was paired with Koivun on Thursday, and the combination delivered the largest American victory of the session, beating Conners and Echavarria 4&3. Thomas was also the highest-rated American player statistically in the opening session, according to Data Golf.
But Koivun will sit Friday, moving Thomas alongside Cameron Young.
Young is looking for a response after losing with Schauffele on Thursday, while Adam Scott will play his second match in as many days after falling alongside Fox. Bezuidenhout, meanwhile, comes in rested after sitting Thursday.
Thomas’ Presidents Cup record gives Snedeker plenty of reason to keep him on the course. He improved to 11-3-2 overall in the event after Thursday, and his ability to succeed with different partners could become particularly useful as the Americans manage their lineup through Saturday’s double session.
Cantlay and Schauffele Reunite for a Blockbuster Finale
3:01 p.m. ET – Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele vs. Tom Kim/Si Woo Kim
Cantlay and Schauffele, one of Team USA’s most established partnerships, reunite after playing with different partners Thursday. They enter Friday with a 4-1 Presidents Cup record together in foursomes.
Waiting for them are Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim, who supplied one of Thursday’s biggest International performances by beating Cantlay and Gotterup 3&2.
There is recent history here, too. The four players met during the 2024 Presidents Cup in Montreal in a memorable match that Cantlay ended with a birdie on the 18th hole.
Why Foursomes Changes the Presidents Cup Strategy
In foursomes, two partners play one ball and alternate shots until the hole is completed. If Scheffler hits the tee shot, for example, Burns must hit the second shot. Scheffler then hits the third, and the pattern continues until the ball is holed.
That makes mistakes more costly. A wayward drive doesn’t simply disappear because a partner has another ball safely in the fairway. The partner must deal with whatever position the previous shot created.
It also makes pairing decisions more complicated. Captains have to consider driving, approach play, putting, personality and even which golfer should tee off on the odd- and even-numbered holes.
Historically, Team USA has enjoyed considerable success in Presidents Cup foursomes. But the most recent session provides the International Team with a very different memory: the Internationals swept all five Friday foursomes matches at Royal Montreal in 2024, erasing the Americans’ 5-0 advantage from the opening day.
That history makes Friday at Medinah particularly interesting. This time, there isn’t a five-point deficit to erase. The Internationals begin only one point behind.
Presidents Cup 2026 Friday Matches: Tee Times, Pairings