MEDINAH — Tiger Woods saluted Team USA after a historic rally delivered a 17-13 Presidents Cup victory over the International Team at Medinah Country Club. The Americans entered Sunday trailing 10.5-7.5 after three days and erased the three-point deficit by taking 9.5 of 12 singles points, with Jacob Bridgeman clinching the trophy before the remaining matches were completed to secure the largest final-day comeback in Presidents Cup history.
Woods, who captained the U.S. to victory in 2019, reacted on social media after the comeback was complete. "What a comeback!" Woods wrote, congratulating Team USA on an "incredible Presidents Cup victory" and calling it a "Great team win." President Donald Trump, who attended the final day as the Presidents Cup's honorary chairman, addressed players from the first tee before singles and later joined the trophy presentation before praising the team at Joint Base Andrews as "unbelievable," calling the result a "big, big win" and saying those watching had witnessed a "very historic event" in sports, golf and for the country.
Team USA needed eight points from 12 singles matches to reach the 15.5 points required to win and got an immediate lift at the top. Cameron Young beat Ryo Hisatsune 3 and 2 and Justin Thomas followed with a 5-and-3 victory over Corey Conners, while Scottie Scheffler, Chris Gotterup and Collin Morikawa added crucial points to sustain pressure. Patrick Cantlay delivered one of the day's biggest moments when he holed a 57-foot putt from off the 16th green against Adam Scott, Collin Morikawa's 1-up win over Hideki Matsuyama put the Americans ahead 13.5-12.5, Jackson Koivun defeated Si Woo Kim 2 up, Bridgeman clinched against Min Woo Lee in his Presidents Cup debut, Xander Schauffele added another full point and Russell Henley halved his match to close the final score at 17-13 on a 9-2-1 Sunday.
The reaction carried extra weight given Woods' deep ties to the event and to Medinah No. 3. He represented the United States in nine Presidents Cups in 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2019, and served as playing captain at Royal Melbourne in 2019 when he went 3-0 as a player, selected himself as one of his captain's picks and led the Americans back from a 10-8 deficit entering Sunday to win 16-14. Medinah also holds a strong connection to Woods, who won both PGA Championships played there, taking the 1999 title by one stroke over Sergio Garcia and the 2006 championship by five strokes over Shaun Micheel.
The 2026 rally surpassed that 2019 mark as the previous Presidents Cup record for a comeback entering singles, turning a three-point hole into a four-point final margin via a 9.5-2.5 singles advantage. The victory gave the United States its 11th consecutive Presidents Cup title and improved its all-time record to 14-1-1, while the International Team remained without a victory since its lone title in 1998. Bridgeman clinched in his debut and Koivun finished his first appearance undefeated as nine Americans recorded singles wins, and captain Brandt Snedeker credited Trump's presence with inspiring the team, saying Trump told him he had "brought some juice" for the Americans and that he would give Trump credit if the day turned in their favor.