5 players facing the most pressure at the Presidents Cup

The Presidents Cup arrives in Chicago this week, with the U.S. team hosting the Internationals at Medinah Country Club. The Americans, who suffered their only loss in the event nearly 30 years ago, are heavy favorites. The International team, led by captain Geoff Ogilvy, will try to keep the contest close and create the conditions for a historic upset.

Team competitions always bring drama, second-guessing and pressure. At Medinah, that pressure will be especially intense for the following five players.

Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay

Thomas remains the emotional heartbeat of the American team room, but he has not played at an elite level in 2026. He posted only two top-10 finishes during the season, the last coming at the PGA Championship in May. Since the start of June, his results have been T19, T17, T14, T50, T65, T14, T47 and T16. In Strokes Gained, Thomas ranked 107th in approach play and 87th in putting.

Thomas made the team because of who he is and because he is not in the same wilderness as he was in 2024, when he was left off the squad. But after J.J. Spaun won the BMW PGA Championship despite being left off the team, and with several young players seeking their first team start sitting at home, Thomas will be under the microscope at Medinah.

Like Thomas, Cantlay is part of the American core, owns a 10-4-0 Presidents Cup record and pairs well with Xander Schauffele. Like Thomas, he was highly unlikely to be left home in favor of new blood, despite another winless season and a quiet major-championship campaign.

Cantlay, however, has shown better recent form. He finished the PGA Tour season T28, T8, T12, second and T21. He ranked third in approach and fourth in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green.

He is not under as much pressure as Thomas, but if Cantlay is not his usual match-play menace and the Americans struggle, his selection over Spaun and others will be scrutinized. If he is again one of the Americans’ best players in a rout, it will not matter.

Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott

How much pressure can a massive underdog face? Probably very little. For 90 percent of the International roster, the Presidents Cup should be an opportunity to play freely and try to do something that has happened only once in the event’s history.

But the International team’s best players face pressure to perform and give their side a chance at a major upset. Matsuyama and Scott are the marquee names and strongest players on a team that lacks the depth of its American counterpart. The U.S. can absorb poor performances from Scottie Scheffler or Schauffele; it is extremely difficult for the Internationals to stay afloat if Matsuyama and Scott struggle. That has happened to both players in the Presidents Cup.

This will be Scott’s 12th Presidents Cup appearance. His only winning week came in 2005. He is 20-28-6 overall and has been particularly poor in four-ball, where he is 5-12-4. Since becoming a global star, Scott has been asked to be a calming presence in the team room and to partner with almost everyone. In his previous 11 Presidents Cups, he had 18 different partners.

Scott has played with Matsuyama seven times, going 2-4-1. He has a winning record with only three partners: Retief Goosen, 3-1-2; Taylor Pendrith, 2-1-0; and Byeong Hun An, 1-0-1.

Matsuyama has struggled similarly. He is 9-13-5 overall and 6-12-3 in foursomes and four-ball.

If Scott and Matsuyama pile up losses at Medinah, significant pressure will fall on Si Woo Kim, Ryan Fox, Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee to keep the Internationals in contention and preserve a chance on Sunday.

Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler has been the world’s best player for four years. He has dominated stroke-play events, yet has looked mortal in team competitions.

Scheffler debuted in the Presidents Cup in 2022, so the sample is small. Still, a 3-5-1 record in a team event dominated by the U.S. does not fit his extraordinary level. Among players who have made multiple Presidents Cups and won multiple majors since 2000, Scheffler is the only one with a losing record. Tiger Woods went 27-15-1, Phil Mickelson 26-16-13 and Jordan Spieth 13-5-1. Scheffler needs to change the direction of that record.

His Presidents Cup struggles also point to a more pressing issue for American team golf: the event they do not dominate, the Ryder Cup.

Unlike Woods, Mickelson and other American stars who thrived in the Presidents Cup, Scheffler has not been as effective against Europe. Woods went 13-21-3 in the Ryder Cup, Mickelson 18-22-7 and Spieth 8-9-5. Scheffler is 3-6-3 after three Ryder Cup appearances.

His greatness in 72-hole stroke-play events is unquestioned, but it is time for him to become the same kind of force in team competitions. With the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor ahead, Scheffler has a timely opportunity to play like the best player of his generation and show that his team-event struggles are only a fading illusion.