Snedeker, Ogilvy Debut as Presidents Cup Captains at Medinah

Brandt Snedeker and Geoff Ogilvy are making their debuts as Presidents Cup captains this week at Medinah, each leading a team assembled with four assistants who have extensive histories in the competition.

Who is leading Team USA?

Snedeker was named US captain in April 2025. He played in the 2013 Presidents Cup at Muirfield Village and on the 2012 and 2016 US Ryder Cup teams, then served as a captain's assistant to Jim Furyk in 2024 and a vice-captain to Keegan Bradley at last year's Ryder Cup.

"Representing my country in team competition has been a highlight of my PGA Tour career," Snedeker said. "I will lean on those experiences to ensure we are prepared and ready to compete against what I know will be a unified and determined International Team."

His assistants reverse several recent roles. Furyk, who captained the winning 2024 US team and is also set to lead the 2027 Ryder Cup team, played in all seven Presidents Cups between 1998 and 2011. Bradley, the 2025 US Ryder Cup captain, played on winning Presidents Cup teams in 2013 and 2024 but is taking on a leadership role in the event for the first time. Simpson, a captain's assistant for the second time after 2022, went 5-3-2 across three playing appearances. Woodland, the 2019 US Open champion, is a Presidents Cup assistant for the first time after going 1-2-1 as a captain's pick in 2019.

Who is leading the International Team?

Ogilvy was confirmed as International captain the same day Snedeker was named. He went 7-6-1 as a player across three straight editions from 2007 to 2011 and has been a captain's assistant in each of the last four Presidents Cups, including 2019, when then-captain Ernie Els introduced the International Team Shield.

"Since Ernie Els debuted the shield in 2019, the International Team's spirit has intensified and grown as we have rallied around this symbol which embodies our shared ambition and unifies both players and fans," Ogilvy said. "I intend to carry that momentum forward."

Villegas is an assistant for the third straight edition, having worked under Trevor Immelman in 2022 and Mike Weir in 2024. Immelman, the 2022 International captain at Quail Hollow, was also an assistant under Els in 2019 and Weir in 2024. Clark returns as an assistant for the first time since serving under Greg Norman in 2011, and Pendrith, who played for the Internationals in 2022 and 2024, is a captain's assistant for the first time.

Every captain who has led the Presidents Cup since 2017 has done so exactly once.

Pendrith, making his first appearance in a leadership role, called the assignment significant. "Representing the International Team has been one of the greatest honors of my career, so being asked to serve as a captain's assistant is incredibly meaningful," he said.

Why does the captain turnover matter?

Team USA has won 13 of the last 15 Presidents Cups, including an 18.5-11.5 result at Royal Montreal in 2024 under Furyk. Despite that dominance, neither side has kept the same captain for consecutive editions since Nick Price led the International Team three straight times through 2017 — a pattern that continues with Snedeker and Ogilvy both taking over fresh.