Signature Scroll: U.S. escapes at Medinah. Now what?

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A heck of a comeback still leaves ample questions …

U.S. prevails

MEDINAH, Ill. – The scenes were joyous.

Brandt Snedeker picked up Keegan Bradley and roared. The two have experienced their fair share of criticism. Scottie Scheffler and Chris Gotterup found their significant others and embraced. Justin Thomas unraveled a “W” flag and draped it over Jackson Koivun.

Jacob Bridgeman had just holed the clincher – a 2-foot par putt at Medinah’s 18th hole that sealed the largest comeback in Presidents Cup history. More matches needed to come through the final hole, but for the next few minutes, it was ground zero for U.S. celebrations.

Tears were shed. Drinks were already being passed around. The team mobbed Snedeker and jumped around.

How much of this emotion was relief?

The United States escaped disaster on Sunday. The Americans were on the brink of losing a home Presidents Cup for the first time in the event’s history after a debilitating home Ryder Cup loss, the first since we were last at Medinah for a team event in 2012. In other words, existential dread was waiting for the Americans if Sunday didn’t go to plan.

Snedeker told his team on Saturday night that funny things happen here. Until then, it had only happened against the U.S. This time, they created their own miracle. The Americans won a record 9.5 points in Sunday Singles to claim the Presidents Cup, 17-13. It was a triumph.

Yet a fair question is whether it should have ever gotten to this point. Winning an away Presidents Cup, just like winning an away Ryder Cup, is supposed to be one of the toughest feats in sport. The U.S. nearly lost home Cups in consecutive years.

Snedeker had it on his mind as the media corralled him on the 18th green. Snedeker said he was tired of the narratives that this team didn’t care or that they didn’t know how to team golf. This win was vindication, he said, before ending with an emphatic statement.

“This team is going to be a problem in Ireland,” Snedeker said. “A problem.”

What type of problem?

The Americans deserve ample credit for fighting back on Sunday. Winning 9.5 points doesn’t happen by accident. They were decidedly the better group over the final 18 holes. They withstood the immense pressure of a potential loss. Their best players delivered decisive victories.

That doesn’t erase the first four sessions. The U.S. have still lost 26 of its last 34 Foursomes sessions. They still need to find a suitable partner for Scottie Scheffler. Snedeker admitted to making mistakes in messaging and in how he deployed his players across sessions. He said he was constantly second-guessing himself. Xander Schauffele said the team could feel how much stress Snedeker was feeling.

“I don't think they realize that you're not just making a decision that affects you; you're making a decision that ripple affects the whole team – people's families, people's lives,” Snedeker said. “Every decision you make carries a serious consequence. You think you know, but you don't until you've done it.”

What safeguards can be put in place to avoid those mistakes from repeating?

Jim Furyk, the incoming Ryder Cup captain, was asked what lessons he could learn. He said he’s “always learning,” but wanted Sunday to be about this group celebrating what they just did. Reflection would come later.

What will those reflections reveal? What changes will be made? Will any? Should any?

For the U.S., those questions will be pondered another day. Thankfully, Sunday night could be celebrated. As players and captains took media questions, they stopped to take swigs of special champagne bottles filled with beer. The party hadn’t stopped since the 18th green. It was just getting started.

Playing through

• 📺 Catch up on all the Sunday Singles highlights …
• 🗣️ Jackson Koivun is very good. His teammates gushed about him …
• 🏆 My colleague Will Gray dove into how the Americans rallied in the nick of time …
• 📊 How did each player fare individually? Here are the final records for all 24 players …

‘We are getting closer’

Adam Scott held his pose as reality washed over him.

The Internationals were about to lose their best chance at the Presidents Cup in years, and Scott was about to lose his match to Patrick Cantlay, drop to 1-3 for the week and wonder what might have been if he was in top form.

Cantlay had just poured in a 57-foot birdie putt at the 16th to push their match to 2 up. The three-point lead that the Internationals took into Sunday Singles was now gone. Seemingly the only question left was how bad the collapse would get.

The loss is hard on the entire International Team. It’s particularly painful for Scott. The senior member of the International Team has done this dance 12 times now. He’s lost 11 and tied one. He persists, hopeful that one day he will leave happy.

Is that day coming? If it does, will Scott be a part of it?

Scott will be 48 in two years. Who knows what state his game will be in in 2028. This could very well be his last Presidents Cup as a player. He’s tied for the most appearances in the event’s history – an incredible feat that is also a nightmare given he’s climbed the mountain more than anyone else and has yet to see the peak. How maddening that must be.

Would he hope to play again? Or perhaps captain in 2028 when his home nation of Australia hosts? Scott was not ready to commit to anything. You could feel the weight of his words as he said the next Presidents Cup is “a long way away.”

In that moment, though, it also reminded that it’s a long way away for everyone.

As Geoff Ogilvy watched the Americans celebrate on the 18th green, he looked over at one of the support staffers and said, “We’re getting closer. We will get there.”

That may be true, but it won’t be with all 12 of these Internationals. The team will inevitably change. Four rookies played this year. Chances are, four more will come again in 2028. A few key stakeholders are likely to return, including the Kim duo. The rest? There’s no guarantee.

This could have been the group. It nearly was. The cruel twist is that they’ll also be known as the group that let it slip – the group that had the Americans on the ropes and couldn’t close.

The pursuit of another International Presidents Cup victory continues. I hope Scott is part of it when it finally comes.

Parting shots

• 👶 The most telling part of Sunday night’s winning press conference was how much praise was heaped on Jackson Koivun. Everyone gushed about him. The 21-year-old was given a tough assignment, matched up against the Internationals’ top-ranked player Si Woo Kim. Nobody would have blinked if Koivun did. Instead, he fought back from 2-down through 10 holes to beat Kim. “He brought everything and more,” Snedeker said. This is the start of a long run of team events for the American phenom.
• 📢 Scottie Scheffler said there’s “no place” for what happened to his opponent Nico Echavarria on the 14th hole on Sunday. A fan yelled during Echavarria’s backswing, which prompted Scheffler to find the fan and tell them off. With Echavarria struggling to make par after the incident, Scheffler told him to pick up his 32-foot par putt, so the hole was halved. “We have the No. 1 player in the world who's a class act,” Echavarria said.

• 🇰🇷 Tom Kim reaffirmed everything he thought he was in this event. He was the Internationals’ best player and went 4-1. His partnership with Si Woo Kim is incredible. The Internationals’ version of Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal? Many people are asking.
• 1️⃣ Cameron Young was entrusted to go out first for the U.S. and start the comeback, just as he was asked to do at Bethpage last fall. He’s 2-0 in those situations. “I know exactly what I need to do,” he said. “That very clear goal, I think, has helped me play well in those two situations.”
• 🇯🇵 I’m a Ryo Hisatsune guy, and I don’t care who knows it. By the second hole, we had already seen a few vicious club twirls, one after a 50-year bunker shot. He also seemed to really invigorate fellow countryman Hideki Matsuyama. The 24-year-old will hopefully make more of these teams.
• 🤐 Snedeker said he wished he had put out Jacob Bridgeman in one of the Four-ball sessions to allow him to get comfortable. Bridgeman only played Foursomes, meaning Singles was his first opportunity to hit the other half of the shots during competitions. Not ideal. Bridgeman still succeeded, winning 1-up over Min Woo Lee.
• 🇨🇦 I snapped a picture of Nick Taylor and Corey Conners holding a Canadian flag, and it reminded me that Taylor had watched many of his countrymen play this event in their home country: Conners, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes. It was heartbreaking. It was great to see Taylor’s clutch ability translate to this format. He went 2-0-1, the only undefeated International.