USA Wins 2024 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal: Recap and 2026 Lessons

Pre-event outlook, preserved for reference. The Medinah analysis below was written before the September 2026 competition. The United States subsequently won 17–13. See the final result and confirmed teams.

Team USA won the 2024 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal, 18.5-11.5, extending its winning streak in the event to 10 consecutive victories. The match swung sharply by session: opposing 5-0 sweeps left the teams level after Friday before the United States built a decisive advantage over the weekend.

The sequence of sessions explains the competitive challenge heading toward Medinah in 2026. Team USA again proved its depth, but the International Team also showed that a session can flip completely when pairings and format line up.

Thursday: 5-0 United States

The opening four-ball session was a clean U.S. sweep. A 5-0 start created the kind of scoreboard pressure that has buried many International Team bids in this event. Four-ball can reward deeper teams because each side has two chances to make birdie, and the Americans had enough firepower to turn small edges into full points.

That opening day is one reason 2026 previews often start with Team USA as the default favorite. When the American roster is full of major champions, elite ball-strikers, and players used to contending on the PGA TOUR, a poor International start can become a structural problem very quickly.

Friday: 5-0 International Team

Friday prevented the event from becoming a procession. Mike Weir's International Team answered with its own 5-0 sweep in foursomes, pulling the match back to 5-5. That result is essential context for Medinah because it showed the International Team's clearest path: excellent alternate-shot pairings, emotional energy, and a format that can reduce the value of raw roster depth.

Foursomes is less forgiving than four-ball. One loose tee shot can expose both players, and one strong partnership can beat two individually superior names. The International Team's Friday response was not a moral victory; it was proof that the event can still produce real pressure when the format narrows the gap.

Saturday: The U.S. Rebuilds Control

Saturday was the turning point. Across two sessions, Team USA rebuilt a four-point lead and entered Sunday ahead 11-7. That cushion changed the tone of the final day. The International Team no longer needed a good singles session. It needed an exceptional one.

The lesson for 2026 is straightforward: the International Team cannot rely on one surge. It needs to avoid the early hole, hold the foursomes advantage, and prevent the U.S. from stacking points in the Saturday double session.

Sunday: Bradley Delivers the Clincher

Keegan Bradley earned the winning point by defeating Si Woo Kim, 1 up, in singles. His victory settled the competition in America's favor, adding a Presidents Cup clincher to a career that also included a major title and Ryder Cup responsibilities.

Xander Schauffele also gave the U.S. an early Sunday push with a 4-and-3 singles win over Jason Day. Those matches helped turn a four-point lead into a final margin that looked comfortable on paper, even though the middle of the week had been far more volatile.

What the Result Really Says

The final margin came from a week with substantial changes in momentum. The International Team won Friday 5-0 after the United States had swept Thursday by the same score. Those sessions left the competition level, making the eight matches on Saturday crucial to the position each team carried into singles.

Team USA had enough partnership and singles strength to recover from Friday's setback. The Americans rebuilt their lead across Saturday's two formats, then added points throughout the final session. That ability to respond gave the captain options even after an entire day had gone against his team.

Medinah Implications

For Brandt Snedeker, 2024 offers reassurance and warning at the same time. Reassurance comes from the depth of the U.S. player pool and the way the team finished. Warning comes from Friday, when the International Team showed that alternate shot can tilt quickly if U.S. pairings are poorly matched or lose rhythm.

For Geoff Ogilvy, the blueprint is narrower but real. The International Team must win or at least split foursomes, protect against a Thursday collapse, and identify pairings that are more than simply two good players standing next to each other. Chemistry and role clarity matter more for the International side because it has less margin for error.

Competitive Balance

The United States had not lost the event since 1998, with the 2003 match ending in a tie. Royal Montreal continued that run while showing how sharply a single format could change the score. Sustaining the Friday level across the weekend remained the International Team's bigger challenge.

If the Presidents Cup is going to feel compelling in 2026, the International Team needs early scoreboard pressure and a credible Sunday path. Royal Montreal showed both the difficulty and the possibility. The International Team was level after Friday. It was not level after Saturday.

What Royal Montreal Left for the Next Captains

Team USA finished with an 18.5-11.5 victory at Royal Montreal, with Bradley securing the clinching point. For the International Team, the challenge ahead was to build on its successful partnerships without allowing another damaging stretch of losses when the format changed.

A 5-0 session gave the International Team a route back into the competition. Saturday then showed the cost of failing to carry that momentum across both four-ball and foursomes. For the next captains, the week offered specific lessons about partnerships, recovery and protecting points before singles.