Scheffler, Burns Survive Late Rally as US Leads Presidents Cup

The United States built a 3-2 lead over the International team on the opening day of the 2026 Presidents Cup, needing a marathon 18-hole match from Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns to hold off an upset at Medinah Country Club on Thursday.

How did Scheffler and Burns hold on against Im and Lee?

World No. 1 Scheffler and No. 8 Burns beat Sungjae Im and Min Woo Lee 1 up in the leadoff four-ball match, the only pairing of the day to reach the 18th hole. Scheffler and Burns birdied the first four holes before Im and Lee answered with birdies of their own on Nos. 2 through 5 to square the match. Im then rolled in a birdie on the par-3 13th to put the Internationals ahead, and they held the lead in three of the five matches on the course until Burns birdied the next hole to tie it back up.

Burns hit what Scheffler called the shot of the match into the 14th green to square things again, and the Americans closed it out with a par on 17 after Im and Lee could not make birdie on the last.

What happened in the other four Presidents Cup matches?

Justin Thomas and 21-year-old rookie Jackson Koivun never trailed in a 4-and-3 win over Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria, improving Thomas to 7-0-0 all time in Presidents Cup four-ball play. Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune beat Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele 3 and 1, and Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa closed out Ryan Fox and Adam Scott 3 and 2. In the final match on the course, Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim overcame a slim early deficit against Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay, winning 3 and 2 after Tom Kim nearly holed his tee shot on the par-3 16th.

A one-point margin after four-balls is a thin cushion, not a lead the Americans can afford to protect passively.

What is next in the 2026 Presidents Cup?

Five points are up for grabs in Friday's foursomes (alternate shot) session. International captain Geoff Ogilvy said his team's leadoff loss stung but wasn't fatal. "2-3, we'll take that," Ogilvy said of the overall score. The Americans hold an all-time record of 13-1-1 in the biennial event and are gunning for a 10th straight win after taking the 2024 edition 18.5-11.5 at Royal Melbourne. That result came despite the Internationals sweeping all five Friday foursomes matches two years ago after the U.S. had swept the four-balls, a reminder that Thursday's format can flip quickly.