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Presidents Cup Winners and Losers: Scottie Scheffler Had the Classiest Move in Team USA’s Comeback Win

Andy Nesbitt|
Scottie Scheffler beat Nico Echavarria 2-and-1 in their match on Sunday.
Scottie Scheffler beat Nico Echavarria 2-and-1 in their match on Sunday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Team USA was able to rally back on Sunday at the Presidents Cup and get its eleventh straight win in the event.

Trailing by tree points heading into Sunday’s singles matches, the heavily favored U.S. team proved to be just too much for the International team and clinched the 17-13 win with a short par putt by Jacob Bridgeman on the 18th hole.

Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas led the way early on Sunday by putting some big wins on the board and rookie Jackson Koivun later showed everyone why he’s considered to be the next big thing in U.S. golf by coming back to beat Si Woo Kim 2-up.

Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from the fun four days at Medinah.

Winner: Scottie Scheffler was all class during his win on Sunday

Scheffler’s struggles in team events were a big talking point going into the Presidents Cup but on Sunday the No. 1 player in the world went out there and put an early point on the board for Team USA with his 2-and-1 win over Nico Echavarria.

The best moment of the match came on the 14th hole when Scheffler conceded a 32-foot par putt for Echavarria. This came moments after a fan yelled during Echavarria’s tee shot, which led to him hitting a 226-yard drive into the right rough on the long par-4.

Scheffler rightfully didn’t like what he saw from the crowd and didn’t want that to lead to him winning the hole, so they both walked off the green with pars.

Here’s how that played out:

Scheffler went 3-1 in his matches this week.

Winner: Jackson Koivun was a stud in his first Presidents Cup

The 21-year-old PGA Tour rookie had all the pressure in the world on him after captain Brandt Snedeker selected him to be on the team. Koivun, who was in college just a few months ago, showed everyone at Medinah that he’s more than ready to be a factor in these big team events for years to come.

Koivun fell behind early in his match against Si Woo Kim on Sunday but was able to rally back and get a huge 2-up victory. He closed things out shortly after sticking his approach shot on the 18th hole.

Pressure? What pressure?

Koivun went 2-0-1 in his three matches and seemed to love everything that came with playing in such an intense event. Get used to his name because he’s going to be back on this stage again. Hopefully for years to come.

Winner: Justin Thomas showed why he belongs on these teams

Thomas was a captain’s pick once again for a team event and once again he showed why he belongs on these squads as he went 2-1-1 in his four matches. He set the tone early on Sunday by rolling to a 5-and-3 win over Corey Conners.

Thomas not only played good golf but he often showed the heart and intensity that U.S. players need to have on the big stages of the Presidnents Cups and Ryder Cups.

Thomas’s career reocord in Presidents Cup matches is now 12-4-3 after another strong showing at Medinah. Chances are he’ll be back in the mix at the Ryder Cup next year in Ireland.

Winner: Chris Gotterup shined in his first Presidents Cup

The 27-year-old from New Jersey played with the same fire as Thomas did all week, showing in his first team event that he’s not only ready to compete, but also be a player the U.S. can depend on to win matches.

After losing his first match in Thursday’s four-ball format, Gotterup won three straight including on Sunday where he beat Christiaan Bezuidenhout, 1-up.

Gotterup has been a stud on the PGA Tour over the past 14 months, winning four events and climbing to No. 7 in the world golf rankings in the process.

"This is by far the most nervous, fun, pressure-packed environment that I've ever been a part of,” Gotterup said after his win on Sunday. “I didn't feel like I had my best stuff this week and getting thrown into this without your A game is stressful, but I felt like I handled it really well.”

Loser: Brandt Snedeker struggled as Team USA’s captain

Snedeker, who has only played in one Presidents Cup in his career, was a surprise pick to be the captain of this year’s team. And while he ultimately got the win thanks to his team’s big rally on Sunday, he often seemed overwhelmed during the the first three days.

“They look to me to put them in the best position where they're comfortable,” Snedeker said after Saturday’s sessions. “I hold myself to a high standard. I don't think I've done the best job for them in that room. They've given me everything I could possibly ask for, and I've just got to figure out ways to get these guys in better situations. I don't think I've held up my end of the bargain.”

Some of Snedeker’s decisions over the first three days left many people scratching their heads. He didn’t always throw out the strongest pairings and seemed to give the International team an advantage in Sunday’s singles matches with the lineup that he chose to go with. In the end, he’s a winning captain in the Presidents Cup. But it was a rough week for the veteran PGA Tour player.

Losers: The International team really blew it on Sunday

The International team had it’s best chance in a long time to get its first Presidents Cup win since 1998 before falling apart on Sunday.

The International team won just two singles matches on Sunday, thanks to Tom Kim and Sungjae Im, and could only watch as Team USA celebrated yet another victory in this event.

Hopefully the International team can be just as competitive in 2028 because it’s a lot more fun when things are close.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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