Presidents Cup 2026: The old-school golf-course feature that's making players think this week at Medinah
Hideki Matsuyama played his second shot on the first hole Thursday just inside an OB fence that lines the entire hole.
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The juxtaposition is striking as you see the aerial drone shot over the opening hole of the Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club. Surrounding the tee is the modern phenomenon of a stadium-style grandstand, a requirement for any big-time team match-play event. This one has room for 3,000 fans to provide a raucous start to any match.
As the camera moves down the fairway, though, there sits just past the grandstand down the left side of the hole an old school split-rail wood fence that feels like it could have been found on a farm outside of Chicago more than a century ago.
The irony is that fence—plain, understated, almost forgettable—is much more likely on the minds of the players as they’re hitting the tee shot than the noise coming from the stands around them. And it’s because that fence is no ordinary fence, but rather an out-of-bounds barrier that smacks competitors in the face right from the start as they being their matches.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Collin Morikawa, when asked how the OB comes so close to play and so early in a round, not just along the fairway, but up near the green as well.
“It’s very nerve-wracking,” described Justin Thomas.
But it’s not just the first hole where this fence is a factor. You see it again down the left side of Nos. 2 and 3, making the tee shot on those holes feel a little more claustrophobic as well.
The OB fencing is new to Medinah No. 3, part of the recent redesign of the course by the design firm of OCM (the O being Geoff Ogilvy, the captain of the International Presidents Cup team). And it’s become an interest character already after only the first day of the four-day competition.
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During Thursday’s opening four-ball session, Ryan Fox and Si Woo Kim were done in by the OB, while Jackson Koivun was twice, both with his drive and with a shot into the green on the second hole). Hideki Matsuyama found his ball a yard inside the OB fence on the first hole in thick rough that was recent addition, according to locals, to prevent some wayward shots from running to the wrong side of the fence. And Sungjae Im got the early break of the day when his tee shot hit the fence on the second hole but bounced back into play.
The presumption for many is that at team event, the opening holes will allow players to ease into their matches, letting any jitters about playing for the home country wash away before the difficulty of the course becomes an overriding factor. And that would be the case ordinarily at Medinah No. 3, if not for the fact that the routing of the course has been changed to host the Presidents Cup. What the U.S. and International players are facing as the opening three holes are actually Nos. 5, 6 and 7 for members.
“Yeah, the first thing when I came out here for a practice round I asked the captains, is that O.B.,” said Xander Schauffele. “It’s a big old fence that just runs all the way to the hole. On the second hole, it’s on the green almost. It’s something all players notice.”
Given how the fencing comes into play, it’s best that the competitors stay committed to how they’re going to play those holes and keep any last minute fears from creeping into the swing.
“You have to take it on; that’s really all it is,” said Scottie Scheffler on Thursday. “You can take a slightly more conservative target, but at the end of the day, you have to hit a really good shot. Hitting it over there right of the green is maybe not the best strategy. I think today we had 8-iron in or something like that. … It is really close, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to hit the shot. You can’t just play it safe all the time.”
Sources tell Golf Digest, the PGA Tour was considering taking out the fences for the competition. However, OCM and Medinah officials insisted they stay, noting the important strategic value they provide.
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