International Team’s best start in Presidents Cup history falls short

MEDINAH, Ill. – After three days, the International Team had the Presidents Cup in its sights, closer than it had ever been.

A three-point lead. Twelve Singles matches standing between it and history.

Then, in the span of a Sunday afternoon, it was gone.

The International Team entered Singles with a 10.5-7.5 advantage, its largest lead after three days in Presidents Cup history. It needed five points from the 12 matches to win the Cup.

Instead, the U.S. Team won the session 9.5-2.5, leaving the International Team to reckon with what had been its best opportunity to win the Presidents Cup on U.S. soil.

“It was just one of those days; it just felt like it was sort of right on a knife edge for a massive part of the day,” International Team Captain Geoff Ogilvy said. “If you hole a couple of putts at the right time and get a bit more yellow on the board at the right time, the momentum and the crowd sort of stays out of it a little bit. Just sort of started drifting away for us in the last few hours.”

The disappointment was obvious. So was the pride.

The International Team had fought through momentum swings throughout the week, repeatedly finding ways to build its advantage and arrive at Sunday with a chance to make history.

“Pretty disappointed, but pretty impressed with this group of guys,” Ogilvy said. “They were pretty committed to this this week. They all put in. The spirit in the room is great. The energy is amazing. They're all incredibly motivated to come back in ’28 and do it again. We gave it a good crack. We nearly got there, but pretty disappointed for sure.”

Ogilvy returned to that idea when asked what the team could take from the week.

“We’ll keep trying,” Ogilvy said. “It’s a hard thing to do to beat the U.S. Team in singles in the U.S. We gave it a pretty good crack.”

For Adam Scott, who has now played in 12 Presidents Cups without being on a winning International Team, Sunday offered another reminder of how difficult the environment is.

“The week stepped up really good, and we’ve had a tough day today,” Scott said. “From my experiences, the environment is definitely getting tougher to play, and this was a tougher environment. There are no excuses, but we’ve got to learn from that and be ready for it.”

Scott, though, sees plenty to build on.

“I think as I look at the group on the whole, all these guys are going to be much better players in two years,” Scott said. “So I like where it’s going for the International Team.”

That leaves the International Team with two years to turn Sunday’s disappointment into experience.

Ogilvy urged the players to remember what they accomplished under the pressure of the Presidents Cup rather than allowing the final result to define the week.

“To be proud of themselves,” Ogilvy said when asked what he wanted his players to take away from the week. “I saw some unbelievable golf under pressure this week. Yesterday especially was getting sort of – the momentum was all going the wrong way the front nine of the first session yesterday, and we turned it around and got something out of that session. The same thing in the afternoon; we turned it around and got something out of that session.”

He also pointed to the unusual pressure of playing in a team event, something many of the younger International Team players experienced for the first time.

“Take the positives out of all the great shots they hit and the points that they won and help you on with your career,” Ogilvy said. “Put your head down and say, ‘Look, in 2028 I want to make this International Team, and I want to win this tournament.’”

Scott, meanwhile, may have another role in that 2028 International Team. Asked whether he would like to play in Australia or potentially serve as captain, Scott paused.

“I don’t know. It’s a long way away. Sounds like a lot of work,” Scott hedged before offering a more definitive answer.

“It’s a long way away. We’ll see if I’m – if I can contribute to the team in any way, I'll do whatever for this team.”

For now, the International Team is left with the hardest part of any near miss: knowing just how close it came.

Noted Ogilvy: “We’re coming, and when we crack this thing, it’s going to get really good.”