It’s likely that the International Team of the Presidents Cup has never had this much team unity, nor, according to recently named captain Geoff Ogilvy, has it had this much hunger to go out and win the whole thing.

Why? Well, Ogilvy said from the top floor of a Chicago restaurant overlooking the famous mirrored bean, winning looks like it’s an awful lot of fun.

“There is a burning determination within the group that is very envious every time we watch the U.S. Team hoist a trophy,” Ogilvy said. “Disappointment usually fuels motivation, so the group is very passionate about it and very determined to sort of balance the ledger and start winning this tournament a bit more regularly.”

Ogilvy, 47, and Brandt Snedeker, 44, were named Tuesday as the Presidents Cup team captains for the 16th Presidents Cup, to be contested at Medinah Country Club’s Course #3, Sept. 22-27, 2026.

Snedeker played in the 2013 Presidents Cup and also played on two Ryder Cup teams, in 2012 and 2016 – the former also taking place at Medinah, as Snedeker, with a joking grin, needed no reminder of. The event was dubbed the “Miracle at Medinah” as the European side came back from being down four points on Saturday to win 14.5-13.5 come Sunday night.

“It was probably one of the lowest points of my career,” Snedeker admitted, “but I do remember all the good stuff leading up to it.”

The President Cup, however, has been much friendlier to the American side. It has won all but one of the competitions and has captured the last 10 in a row.

“That’s a lot of disappointing Sundays,” Ogilvy said.

The U.S. Team defeated the International Team 18.5-11.5 at Royal Montreal last fall, with Jim Furyk as captain and Snedeker one of his assistants.

It was the first time Snedeker had been part of the leadership group in a team competition, and said he planned on taking plenty from any captain he could for his own effort at the helm. He said it was “humbling” to be thought of as a captain and called this opportunity “a great honor.”

Snedker will also be one of Keegan Bradley’s vice captains at the Ryder Cup this fall.

“Leaning on the guys who have come before me is something I’m going to lean into. Obviously, everybody’s style is different, but I think the most important thing about being a captain is not trying to be somebody you’re not,” Snedeker said. “The biggest thing with any of these captaincies is just making sure the guys understand and know that you care about them, that you want them to be successful, and that you’re there for them.”

Now, while it is a home Presidents Cup for the American team, Ogilvy’s hands are quite literally all over the host golf club. His golf course design firm, OCM, oversaw the renovation of Course #3. It was a two-year project with the course now featuring larger greens, wider fairways, and a new routing, which re-opened for play last summer.

“The course is totally different,” Snedeker said.

“I'm going to be a very interested observer to see how the work we did plays out when the best golfers in the world are playing on it,” added Ogilvy. “I think (designing the course is an) advantage when we turn up on Monday, but by Thursday […] the best skill, I think, that touring professionals have over most other golfers is they can learn a golf course really quickly.”

Ogilvy has played on three International Teams and has been a captain’s assistant for the last four iterations of the event. He follows fellow major champion Mike Weir as captain of the International team, who led the way in his home country last year.

Ogilvy said the general vibe of the International side has changed and continues to change year after year. The text threads amongst the team members seem to last longer after the event now, he revealed. When he first got involved with the Presidents Cup in the mid-2000s, he said, there was hunger for a win during the week, then it would dissipate quickly, and then “it would disappear for two years” and then would come back for tournament week.

Now, Ogilvy said, there is plenty of new blood on the International side. There were only two rookies on the team in Montreal, and Tom Kim, for example, is just 22 and has already played two Presidents Cup competitions.

Hideki Matsuyama has, however, played it five times. And then there’s Ogilvy’s countryman Adam Scott, who has played 10 Presidents Cup competitions. Ogilvy said for as much as the young group wants to take this across the finish line, they are more motivated to do it for someone like Scott.

“It’s impossible to be at one of these events and not be motivated to win,” Ogilvy said.

It’s his turn to try to lead the International side to do exactly that.