2026 Presidents Cup: Format, Schedule, Teams, and How to Watch

The 2026 Presidents Cup is scheduled to kick off this Thursday at Medinah Country Club near Chicago, with the United States aiming to maintain its historical superiority in the tournament. Having claimed victory in 13 out of the past 15 iterations, including an active 10-match winning streak, the U.S. squad is highly favored once more to secure the trophy.

Conversely, the International team deals with a formidable challenge as they attempt to orchestrate a major upset and claim only their second title overall—and their very first on American turf.

Although the American roster appears vastly superior on paper, they will deal with significant pressure to fulfill those projections. Any outcome short of an easy win will likely be considered a disappointment for Brandt Snedeker’s squad, particularly since several key American players are eager to redeem themselves in team play following their difficulties at last year’s Ryder Cup.

The pressure is perhaps most intense on Scottie Scheffler. The top-ranked player globally possesses a subpar history in team formats, holding a lifetime 3-5-1 record at this event. Quite remarkably, Scheffler has gone 0-2-0 in individual matchups, and amidst lingering doubts regarding his capacity to serve as the dominant leader the U.S. requires, he will be highly motivated to deliver a stellar performance at Medinah.

For the International team, the primary objective is simply to establish traction, especially when playing away from home. They have suffered defeats by margins of three points or more in every away tournament since a narrow one-point defeat in 1996, and they enter this week following consecutive blowout losses. Captain Geoff Ogilvy must get peak performances from his star competitors and hope for an unheralded player to rise to the occasion to pull off an upset, though such unpredictable outcomes are exactly what makes sporting events so captivating.

Tournament Format and Rules for the 2026 Presidents Cup

This competition spans four days and consists of five match sessions, giving it an extra day of tournament action compared to the Ryder Cup, which crowds four sessions into its opening two days. The opening pair of sessions will consist of five matches each, with Captain Snedeker choosing to launch with four-ball on Thursday followed by foursomes on Friday.

Saturday’s schedule is split into morning and afternoon slots with four matchups in each, commencing with four-ball and finishing with foursomes. The tournament wraps up on Sunday with 12 individual head-to-head matches, culminating in a grand total of 30 points up for grabs—two more than in Ryder Cup play—to decide the champion.

Four-ball: Pairs from each team compete directly against each other. All four participants play their own ball throughout, and only the better score of the two partners on each team is recorded for each hole. The unused scores are disregarded.

Foursomes: Duos from each squad go head-to-head. In this format, partners alternate strokes using a single ball until they complete the hole. As an illustration: if Player A hits the opening tee shot, they will take every tee shot on the odd holes and hit the second shots on even holes. Player B will then handle tee shots on even holes and hit approach shots on odd holes. Strategic planning is vital here, because the golfer starting on odd holes will be responsible for tee shots on three par-3 holes at Medinah’s Course No. 3.

Singles: Reserved exclusively for Sunday’s concluding round. This segment features 12 individual, head-to-head matches scheduled throughout the final day.

Scoring System for the 2026 Presidents Cup

Event Scoring: Every individual matchup awards 1 point. Halved matches see each team earn 0.5 points. The squad that first accumulates 15.5 points over the tournament wins the Presidents Cup. Should the 30 matches finish in a 15-15 deadlock, the trophy is shared, and both teams are declared co-champions.

Match Play: Each hole is contested as its own separate unit, with the lower score claiming the hole. If opponents register the identical score on a hole, it is declared halved, and the overall match score remains unchanged.

As competitors progress through their rounds, the margin of lead expands or contracts depending on who captures each hole. For instance: if Team or Player A wins the opening two holes, they go 2 UP. If Team or Player B subsequently wins the third hole, Player A’s advantage is trimmed to 1 UP.

Contests can conclude before the 18th hole if the leader’s margin exceeds the number of holes remaining. For instance: if Team A has a 4 UP advantage with only three holes left to play, they win the match by a score of 4 and 3.

Concessions: In contrast to standard medal play, golfers are not obligated to hole out on every green. Opponents can concede strokes (typically short putts) if they are highly likely to be made, or if the stroke has no bearing on winning or halving that particular hole.

Rosters for the 2026 Presidents Cup

Automatic Qualifiers

Captain’s Selections

2026 Presidents Cup Event Schedule

All listings in Eastern Time

Thursday, September 24

Opening Round (Four-ball): 12:35 p.m.

Television Broadcast: 12:30 to 7 p.m. via Golf Channel, Fubo (Free trial available)
Online Streaming: 12:30 to 7 p.m. at GolfChannel.com

Friday, September 25

Second Round (Foursomes): 2:05 p.m.

Television Broadcast: 2 to 7 p.m. via Golf Channel, Fubo (Free trial available)
Online Streaming: 2 to 7 p.m. at GolfChannel.com

Saturday, September 26

Third Round (Four-ball): 8:02 a.m.
Fourth Round (Foursomes): 2:15 p.m.

Television Broadcast: 8 to 9 a.m. via Golf Channel | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. via NBC, Fubo (Free trial available)
Online Streaming: 8 to 9 a.m. at GolfChannel.com | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Peacock

Sunday, September 27

Final Round (Singles): 12:02 p.m.

Television Broadcast: 12 to 6 p.m. via NBC, Fubo (Free trial available)
Online Streaming: 12 to 6 p.m. on Peacock