Karaoke and money games: 4 takeaways from the Presidents Cup

MEDINAH, Ill. — Much has changed in the 14 years since the last elite team match-play event at Medinah Country Club. In 2012, spectators pulled out flip phones on the first tee and turned on their flashlights. Now U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker is collecting players’ numbers in a team group chat called “Medinah ’26.”

“It’s a great way to get these young guys involved in the team. I’ve been super impressed with how funny Jacob Bridgeman, Chris Gotterup and Jackson are in these things. It’s gotten to the point where Scottie has even had to chime in, although he isn’t a big texter,” Snedeker said.

Here are four main takeaways from Tuesday at the Presidents Cup.

1. Team USA broke in its rookies with karaoke

All 24 players have spoken about the closeness created by team-bonding activities, something rarely experienced in an individual sport. But not every rookie was thrilled with Snedeker’s initiation.

“Last night, the rookies had to sing a song for everybody. There were maybe 40 or 50 people in the room, no phones, no videoing anything. It was nerve-racking but hilarious,” debutant Jacob Bridgeman said.

Bridgeman sang “God Bless the USA.” Twenty-one-year-old Jackson Koivun chose Kanye West’s “Heartless,” while Chris Gotterup selected Creed’s “One Last Breath.”

“I went with Creed last night and destroyed it in a bad way. It was bad,” Gotterup said.

Gotterup has also become a target of jokes in the team chat. He said Rutgers teammates had made him “a punching bag,” while Bridgeman posted a funny vacation photo that Gotterup had intended to keep secret.

“I have to get him back at some point,” Gotterup said. Asked about the photo, he replied: “No, no. That’s limited information.”

1. Team Kim is back and bigger than ever

One of the most memorable stories from the previous Presidents Cup in Montreal was the emergence of Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim as a duo. They went 2-1 together, while each separately defeated Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns.

Now a third player with the surname Kim has joined the family — Canadian Nick Taylor.

“I became Brother Kim,” Taylor said.

Si Woo and Tom Kim have called Taylor “Nick Kim” since they teamed up in a six-ball game a couple of weeks ago during a team scouting trip to Medinah. Taylor helped the Kims win their money game, prompting Tom to say, “We made it rain.”

“I’m not just in the positive. I’m very positive,” Tom Kim said about his results through the first two days of the week.

1. Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler together again?

Burns quickly hinted at his partner for this week.

“Do you already know who you’re going to play with?” he was asked.

“I do, yeah.”

“Is his name Scottie Scheffler?”

“His name starts with an S,” Burns replied with a smile.

The choice would not be surprising: Scheffler and Burns are close friends and have been paired together repeatedly over the years. Their results, however, have not been ideal. The Scheffler-Burns team has played four matches, losing three and tying one. All four came at the 2022 Presidents Cup and the 2023 Ryder Cup; they have not been paired since.

Burns, however, remembers the nuances of match play.

“I feel like we played really well together in 2022. I remember getting off the course and the stats guys were like, ‘Well, if you guys would have played any other match this day, you would have won,’ but unfortunately we didn’t,” Burns said.

1. The old Medinah at the new Medinah

Medinah Country Club has changed. Course No. 3 was completely renovated, so it should play and feel different from the last times it hosted elite professionals. But the venue’s history remains highly visible.

The 2012 “Miracle at Medinah,” Europe’s historic Sunday comeback, still resonates with Captain Snedeker.

“As I’ve spoken at length about, I think you learn way more from your losses than your wins. What happened here on Sunday that year taught me a lot. It taught me how much these guys care, seeing my idols of the game and who I was a teammate with crying in the locker room on Sunday night when things didn’t go our way.

“You learn from those experiences and try to build a team around them. I’ve built my career around that,” Snedeker said.

Snedeker is the first to point out the changes at Medinah. They will surely influence the tournament and may become part of locker-room speeches this week — perhaps for both sides.

Ryan Fox, the Open champion and a golf enthusiast, had never played in a team event of this stature, but he attended Presidents Cups earlier in his career. In New Zealand, he woke up early to watch Ryder Cups played in the United States and stayed up deep into the night for those held in Europe. Now he and some of his international teammates want to create an equally painful Medinah memory for the Americans.

“2012 was such drama. It’s hard to pick one moment out of that whole Sunday, but I remember watching it vividly. I’ve seen the documentary on it and everything that happened.

“It gives us a lot of motivation this week that you can do something incredible on a Sunday like that, especially at the same venue,” Fox said.