International sweep puts Team USA
in a 7-3 hole at the Presidents Cup
[September 26, 2026]
By DOUG FERGUSON
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) — Nick Taylor got his team into a mess with a bad
drive and there was only one way to get out of it. The Canadian took
stock of the wind and his adrenaline, took a little off a 9-iron
from 151 yards and delivered a clutch shot a foot from the hole that
led to a full point Friday in the Presidents Cup.
Not far behind him at Medinah, British Open champion Ryan Fox wasted
no time — he never does — in making three big putts on the last four
holes for another close win, another full point.
It was like that all afternoon, and the result was familiar but no
less stunning.
The Internationals swept the foursomes session for the second
straight time, taking a 7-3 lead and putting the Americans in a hole
they haven't seen in the Presidents Cup since 1998. That also
happened to be the only time the International team won this
competition.
Adam Scott, who set a Presidents Cup record Friday by playing in his
56th match, recalls the sweep at Royal Montreal in 2024 and what
followed — the Americans won six of the eight matches on Saturday
and rolled to another victory.
“If we take something from Canada, it’s not to celebrate too hard at
this point,” Scott said.
But there was a confidence about this International team the
Australian found inspiring going into the double session of
fourballs and foursomes on Saturday.
“From where I sit, if any of the guys were lacking belief, they
should have it now,” Scott said.
Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout never trailed in a 3-and-2 victory
over Justin Thomas and Cameron Young. Hideki Matsuyama holed two big
putts as he and Sungjae Im beat Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman
by the same margin. The fifth match was the first point of the day
for the Internationals, Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim beating Patrick
Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, 4 and 3.
U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker kept reminding everyone there were 20
points still on the table and if it were a football game, it
wouldn't even be halftime. He also recognized his Americans have
never faced a deficit this large in the Presidents Cup.
“We’re not going to be able to get it back in one session. We’re not
going to be able to get it back in one match. It’s going to be a
slow, steady process to try to turn this thing around,” Snedeker
said. “From where we are right now, we need to do it session by
session, point by point.”
Taylor, in his first Presidents Cup at age 38, showed his clutch
gene. This is the Canadian who chipped in for eagle to set up a
playoff win at the Sony Open, who won a playoff in the Phoenix Open,
and who most famously holed 72-foot eagle putt in a playoff at the
Canadian Open.
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International teams' Christian Bezuidenhout, of South Africa,
celebrates on the seventh hole with Adam Scott, of Australia, during
the Presidents Cup golf tournament second round foursomes match
against the USA team at Medinah Country Club, Friday, Sept. 25,
2026, in Medinah, Ill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
He and Corey Conners were 1 up against Scottie Scheffler and Sam
Burns going down the 18th, where Taylor pushed his drive right into
the rough and was blocked by trees. Conners could only get it back
to the fairway, still farther away from the second shot for
Scheffler.
“I wasn't sure if I could hit that close, to be honest,” Taylor
said. “But it came out perfect. It was a nice feeling walking up
that it was a kick-in.”
Burns had a chance to make birdie and halve the match, and he
dropped to his knees when the putt rimmed around the cup.
Fox and Min Woo Lee were in an equally tight match, with the
Americans taking their first lead on the 12th hole. Fox holed a
15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th to square the match, and he
made a birdie putt from 20 feet on the par-3 16th to go 1 up. They
halved the last two holes, with Fox making a 4-footer for par on the
18th.
“I’ve holed a couple of good putts this year, I think,” Fox said
with a smile. “I felt it pretty early today with the putter.”
The other matches weren't close. Neither was the entire session.
“We obviously had a great day. Didn’t expect that to happen, but I
guess we’ve got experience from 2024 having a Friday like that,”
International captain Geoff Ogilvy said. “It’s obviously enjoyable
to have a day like that on the golf course, but we reset tomorrow
and start again.”
Saturday is pivotal in this format. After two days of one session
each, there are four matches of fourballs in the morning and four
matches of foursomes in the afternoon, and 12 singles to decide it
on Sunday.
“There's no scenario where you ever want to get swept,” Thomas said.
“But if we're going to do it, I would say Friday sounds a little bit
better than any of the rounds tomorrow.”
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