Coming off another disappointing performance in the Ryder Cup, the Americans are again wondering whether their International counterparts have their number. Luckily for the United States, the Europeans who give them fits are sidelined for the Presidents Cup with players from everywhere else across the world arriving in Chicago to compete at Medinah No. 3. The U.S. has won 10 straight trophies in this biennial competition, and while the 2024 Presidents Cup had extra juice with three Canucks on the International side and the event hosted in Montreal, this year the Americans enter as even more substantial favorites on home soil.
The United States opens at -550 to win the Presidents Cup with an expected advantage of 7 points, nearly double their odds from two years ago. The International side is a substantial underdog at +500, and it has neither much experience nor familiarity to buck the trend of American victories dating back two decades. In fact, the Internationals have only won once out of 14 playings of the event ... back in 1998 across the globe in Australia.
The 2026 competition sees the United States boasting a roster with three of the top five and eight of the top 11 players in the Official World Golf Rankings, led by No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 3 Cameron Young. On the International side, Si Woo Kim is the highest-ranked competitor, falling below all eight of his opponents at No. 14 in the OWGR. Ultimately, the question will be whether the Americans remain dominant in this event -- a level of play they have not been able to achieve at the Ryder Cup -- or the Internationals break a long losing streak and come out on top in Chicago.
Let's take a look at how our CBS Sports experts believe the 2026 Presidents Cup will play out this week. Sam Burns: Coming off a career-best season in terms of total strokes gained and ball striking, Burns will be able to show off the well-rounded nature of his game in this format. He was the only player in 2024 not to lose a match (3-0-1), and there is a good chance he plays all five sessions with partners such as Patrick Cantlay in four-ball and Collin Morikawa in foursomes.
Both of those combinations are a recipe for success for a player who is in form, confident and more than capable with the putter in hand in match-play situations. Top American: 13/2 | Top scorer: 9-1 -- Patrick McDonald Cameron Young: Young might just be a killer in match play. He was the highlight of an otherwise dismal Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black (3-1-0), and his style of golf works incredibly well in this format.
Young gets to be super-aggressive because the penalty for a bad hole is only losing the hole itself, not derailing an entire round. When he gets hot, he can go on a tear and push himself or his team to a big advantage. He ought to be out in at least four sessions this Presidents Cup (if not all five, depending on the score on Saturday), and if he doesn't take home at least three points for the U.S., it'd be a surprise.
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