Considering that international team events in professional golf occur only once a year, it is natural to overanalyze every aspect of these tournaments, cast long-ranging opinions and ask questions that cannot be answered or the better part of 12 months. It's part of the fun: poring through numbers, fact sheets, scuttlebutt and everything in between. The 2026 Presidents Cup is no different.
Decisions are being second-guessed by fans and even the captains themselves. Good golf was not always rewarded, and sometimes, not-so-good golf was. That is the way match play works.
You can only play the man across from you, and the draw may not always be in your favor -- in fact, it's often not. With the United States coming back from a historic four-point deficit after the second session to win 17 to 13 -- on the back of a monstrous 9.5 to 2.5 singles performance on Sunday -- eyes shift toward next fall and the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Limerick, Ireland, against the Europeans. A win is a win -- again, you can only play who is across from you -- but how should the red, white and blue (and the black and gold!) feel after a week in Chicago?
If you bypassed watching the Presidents Cup and only looked at the final score, you would be fair to assume a ho-hum win for the Americans. The U.S. team enjoyed such a large talent gap over the International team -- as shown in an impressive singles session -- that it was truly alarming how poorly they performed in the four-ball and foursomes team sessions. This is precisely what transpired last year at Bethpage Black.
While the talent discrepancy was much closer, it still leaned towards the homestanding Americans. While the Ryder Cup was effectively lost before Sunday even began, the U.S. nearly swept singles, which would have resulted in an even more miraculous comeback. Alas, the Americans did not, and it stands to reason they may not win another team competition at that level if they cannot figure out how to play team golf.
In the last two Presidents Cups, the U.S. is 5-13-0 in foursomes. The mark at the Ryder Cup is even worse at 3-13-0. Sunday singles have made messy team performances look cleaner -- like shoving piles of clothes into the closet before company arrives.
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