Presidents Cup 2026 Rules, Format and Points System Primer for Golf Tournament

The United States will attempt to extend their dominance in the Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club in Illinois.

Team USA won all but two of the bi-annual showdowns with the International Team since the Presidents Cup debuted in 1994.

Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young and Wyndham Clark headline the American team that is a heavy favorite to win on home soil.

The International team is made up of the best golfers from Canada, Mexico, South America, Africa and Asia. No Europeans are eligible because they participate in the Ryder Cup.

A total of 30 points are up for grabs from Thursday to Sunday. Team USA's scored at least 16 points in each of the last four Presidents Cups.

Presidents Cup Format

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The Presidents Cup takes place over four days.

Thursday's five matches will be in the four-balls format where every golfer plays every stroke. The lowest score in the partnership on each hole is counted for the score.

Friday's five matches are contested in the foursomes, which is an alternate shot format.

On Saturday, four four-balls and a quarter of foursomes matches will be played across the morning and afternoon sessions.

Sunday's play features 12 singles matches.

The team with the most points on Sunday comes away with the Presidents Cup.

The winner of each match receives one point. If a match is tied after 18 holes, the two teams receive a half point.

Rosters

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Team USA: Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Henley, Collin Morikawa, Chris Gotterup, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Jacob Bridgeman, Patrick Cantlay, Jackson Koivun

International: Si-Woo Kim, Ryan Fox, Hideki Matsuayama, Min Woo Lee, Tom Kim, Adam Scott, Corey Conners, Nico Echevarria, Sung-Jae Im, Ryo Hisatsune, Nick Taylor, Christian Bezuidenhout

Scheffler, Young and Clark are the most notable names on the Team USA roster. They have plenty of match-play experience around them in the form of Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

Chris Gotterup, Jacob Bridgeman and Jackson Koivun are the rookies on the American roster. Schauffele, Thomas and Patrick Cantlay are all making their third Presidents Cup appearances.

Four Presidents Cup rookies are on the International roster, including The Open champion Ryan Fox.

Seven players on the International roster have appeared in multiple Presidents Cups, but none of them have come away as winners.

Team USA is viewed as the clear favorite given its star-studded roster and history in the event.

An International win would go down as one of the more shocking results in the event's history.