It was Sir Isaac Newton who formalized the concept that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
He did so in the late 1600s, well before the Presidents Cup came along to serve as a counterweight to the Ryder Cup and while the golf example may not exactly fit the scientific requirements of Newton’s third law, the application applies.
For all the drama and disappointment that have shrouded the Americans’ Ryder Cup fortunes over the past three decades (11 losses in the last 15 matches), the Presidents Cup has been so one-sided in the Americans’ favor that its relevance has been questioned.
That leads into the question: Will the Americans build on their 13-1-1 all-time record next fall at redesigned Medinah Country Club outside Chicago or will 2026 be the year when the Internationals finally change the narrative?
With the sting of another Ryder Cup loss still fresh, it falls to American captain Brandt Snedeker (a vice captain for Keegan Bradley at Bethpage) to extend the U.S. dominance with a team that will likely be similar to the group at Bethpage against an International squad captained by Australian Geoff Ogilvy.
“Being around those guys for a week is super important. I learned how hard these guys compete, how much they care about each other as the one overarching thing I took out of Bethpage,” Snedeker said.
“What Keegan did for the team was, man, he created a lot of trust [in] that team room. He created a lot of buy-in from the guys and I think how they played on Sunday represented that. I thought the way they went there and fought for each other, fought for our fans, fought for our country, showed what kind of great character we have on the team and what we’re willing to give to each other to kind of reach a common goal.”
“I’m not sure if there’s any one thing that’s going to help us crack the code. I think it’s just continuing to try to polish our craft at being in these team events, and at some point, we’re going to have a good week, and we’re going to have a good team, and guys are going to hole putts, and it’s all going to work out.” – Geoff Ogilvy
Throughout the history of the Presidents Cup, the U.S. team has played from a position of strength, whether in terms of the familiarity among players or the strength and depth of the 12-player roster. In three of the last four Presidents Cups, the Americans have won by an average of more than six points, the only close result being a two-point U.S. win at Royal Melbourne in Australia in 2019.
That’s the challenge facing Ogilvy and the International squad, whose only victory came in 1998 in Australia. In recent years, the International team has taken steps to create an enduring culture and though the results have not always reflected progress, the sense within the International side is that their time is coming.
“I’m not sure if there’s any one thing that’s going to help us crack the code. I think it’s just continuing to try to polish our craft at being in these team events, and at some point, we’re going to have a good week, and we’re going to have a good team, and guys are going to hole putts, and it’s all going to work out,” Ogilvy said.
“There’s such a fine line, even in what seemingly was a very lopsided Ryder Cup [it] ended up very close, and it went down to the last couple of groups. So it’s a lot of things have to go your way to win these tournaments. I don’t know if it’s 100 percent in the captain and the leadership’s control, but control the controllables and keep trying to do what we do better than we did last time, and hopefully at some point it’s enough.”
It may not entirely crack the code but Ogilvy was instrumental in the dramatic redesign of Medinah. A big-shouldered course that is familiar as a site for a Ryder Cup and major championships, Medinah’s No. 3 course has been transformed into a more open, dynamic layout that will get its new star turn in September.
How much difference it will make having Ogilvy whispering in his players’ ears remains to be seen but it is an added element in the lead up to the Presidents Cup.
“I think we can probably come into the week with maybe a little bit of inside knowledge, because … I understand the sort of intent behind the design and how we were hoping guys would play the course, and what we think is the best way around the course, which will be the most successful way around the golf course,” Ogilvy said.
“But professional golfers, if they’re anything, they’re really good at learning a golf course quickly. … I think maybe on Monday morning … my players will maybe have a little bit of insider trading on the golf course. But by Thursday morning, when we all get off, the U.S. guys are going to be well schooled up on the golf course, and I think sort of that early advantage will be gone by the time we play.”