Is the U.S. team overthinking its alternate-shot pairings?

After a thrilling comeback in Sunday’s singles, the U.S. team defeated the Internationals 17-13 at the Presidents Cup. But questions remain about the Americans’ performance in the team portion of the event, particularly in foursomes, or alternate shot.

Foursomes have been a problem for the U.S. in recent years. At this Presidents Cup, the Americans went just 2-7 in the format. Their performance was no better at last year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, where the U.S. went 2-6-0 against Europe.

Subpar hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz discussed what the Americans should change.

“Whatever we’re doing, we should change it, because it ain’t working,” Stoltz said.

“We won this thing, but it should have been a blowout,” Knost said. “I don’t care who you pair with whom. These are the best players in the world. This isn’t like, hey, we’re taking Scottie Scheffler and going to put him with, like, a guy in the C flight of the club championship. He’s playing alongside one of the best there is.

“And there’s just something about this format. I don’t know if it’s just mental, that they panic going into it, but something has got to change in this format or else this is going to continue to happen. Because over in Europe, we’re not big favorites like we are in the Presidents Cup. This thing is tight. This is 12 against 12. This is a battle, and it’s going to be very difficult for us to go over there and win on foreign soil if we play two of these sessions the way we have, which obviously means both foursomes.”

Stoltz suggested that the problem may not be the pairings themselves, but the Americans’ on-course strategy.

“In foursomes, there’s a mind-blowing stat: since the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, across those four team events, we have gotten our asses handed to us,” he said. “We have made fewer bogeys during that time than our opponents in the matches we’ve played. And we have made half as many birdies.

“So I don’t know if it’s a strategy thing, where we get in there and say, ‘Hey, dude, every shot matters; if we just play it safe, hit fairways, hit greens, two-putt, make par, let them beat themselves.’ If that is the strategy, it ain’t working. And typically that’s the thought process for alternate shot, isn’t it?

“But maybe the International side is like, ‘All right, dude, they’re better on paper. We’re supposed to lose this. We’re going to have to take some risks that we normally wouldn’t take.’

“We’ve got the best players in terms of the rankings, and we’re making half as many birdies in the format,” Stoltz concluded. “That doesn’t pencil.”

“That can be—you’re 100 percent right—a total strategy thing,” Knost said.

Fortunately for the U.S. team, there is still time to find solutions before facing Europe at the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland next September.

For more analysis from Knost and Stoltz, including whether Geoff Ogilvy should return as International captain in 2028, check out the full episode of Subpar.