Presidents Cup 2026: World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler benched for Saturday foursomes
Luke Hales
It’s been a tough year for Scottie Scheffler … as a U.S. golf team member. Individually, Scheffler put together another sparkling season, winning three times and finishing runner-up another five enroute to the FedEx Cup title. The World No. 1 has struggled mightily in the red, white and blue, however. At Bethpage Black last September, Scheffler posted a 1-4-0 record as the U.S. slumped to an embarrassing home loss. His start at Medinah hasn’t been much better, and on Saturday, captain Brandt Snedeker made the big call to bench his biggest star for the afternoon foursomes session.
Despite Scheffler and Burns coming back from one down on No. 15 to win their match against Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune—aided by a long birdie putt by Scheffler on No. 15—the four-time major winner will now get “a break” before Sunday singles. The move comes on the heels of questions about Scheffler’s fit for alternate shot, where he currently has the fourth-worst points percentage of any player who has played more than 23 cup matches (Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup). That’s all-time, including both Internationals/Europe and the U.S. The only players worse than Scheffler in the format are Sam Torrance, Jason Day and Robert Allenby.
"You know, I feel like Scottie’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders carrying Team USA. It’s time for us to carry him for a session," said U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker of the decision to sit Scheffler for the afternoon. "It was tough. It’s probably why my head is still spinning. We were trying to do our best to get these guys in a good situation. I love Scottie Scheffler to death, that was a really tough decision to sit him this afternoon. But I wanted to get him some rest and wanted him to get ready to go tomorrow in singles."
Whether the move pays off remains to be seen, but it is the kind of tough call that U.S. captains have routinely shied away from making. U.S. fans will hope that they see a refreshed and reinvigorated Scottie Scheffler on Sunday after his Saturday siesta. If not, things don't bode well for the Americans.
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