2026 Presidents Cup format and schedule: Breakdown of teams, rules, scoring, TV coverage and where to watch

The 2026 Presidents Cup comes to an end Sunday at Medinah Country Club just outside Chicago, where the International team hopes to pull off the stunner of all stunners in the biennial event against the Americans. Taking a 10.5 to 7.5 lead into Sunday singles, the International team possesses their first lead going into the final day of competition since 2019 at Royal Melbourne.

The black and gold will hope for a different result this time around and one that would represent only their second victory in the 16 editions of the Presidents Cup. With 12 points up for grabs, Sunday singles has often sided with the U.S. team as the red, white and blue has little room for error if they are to mount a comeback and retain the Presidents Cup.

Captain Brandt Snedeker has elected to stack the front of his lineup with players like Cameron Young, Chris Gotterup and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who did not play in the Saturday afternoon foursomes session. International captain Geoff Ogilvy, meanwhile, has put Tom Kim in the second match out against Wyndham Clark with the rest of his top players near the bottom of his lineup.

Can the U.S. team put a charge together much like they did at Bethpage Black last fall against the Europeans in the Ryder Cup where they fell just short or will the International team have enough gas left in the tank to stave off a desperate American side? 

Anyway about it, one team will walk away victorious and the other disappointed with the International team needing only five of the possible 12 points in the final session to reach the 15.5 winning total or 4.5 points to tie, which would result in both teams sharing the Presidents Cup.

Before we get to that, here's a quick refresher on the rules and format of the event as a whole.

2026 Presidents Cup format, rules

The Presidents Cup features five match sessions over four days of competition, providing an additional day of play compared to the Ryder Cup, which packs four sessions into the first two days. The first two sessions feature five matches with Snedeker opting to begin with four-ball on Thursday and then play foursomes on Friday. 

Saturday is broken up into a morning and afternoon session with four matches in each, starting with four-ball and concluding with foursomes. Sunday brings the event to a close with 12 singles matches with it all adding up to 30 points -- two more than the Ryder Cup -- to determine a winner. 

Four-ball: Two-man teams representing each side square off against one another. Each of the four golfers plays their own ball, and the lowest score between the two players for each team counts for the hole. The two scores not chosen get thrown out.

Foursomes: Two-man teams representing each side square off against one another. However, the golfers must alternate hitting the same ball until it is holed. For example: If Player A hits the tee shot on No. 1, that means he will hit all the tee shots on odd-numbered holes and approach shots on even-numbered holes. Player B will tee off on all the even-numbered holes and hit approach shots on odd-numbered holes. There is more strategy involved here, as the player teeing off on the odd holes will strike the tee shots on three of the par 3s at Medinah No. 3.

Singles: Only played in Sunday's final round. Singles consist of 12 one-on-one matches played over the course of the day.

2026 Presidents Cup scoring

Event: Each match is worth 1 point. Matches ending in a tie result in each side receiving 0.5 points. The first team to reach 15.5 points over the three days of play wins the Presidents Cup. If the 30 matches end in a 15-15 tie, both teams will share the Presidents Cup as co-champions.

Matches: Each hole is scored independently with the lowest score winning. If both teams or players have the same score on a hole, the hole is considered tied with no advantage awarded.

As the teams or players advance through the round, the lead will grow or shrink based on who wins each hole. For example: If Team/Player A wins the first two holes, they would hold a 2 UP lead. If Team/Player B then wins the third hole, Team/Player A's lead reduces to 1 UP.

Matches can end early if the winning team or player has a larger lead than the number of holes left to play. For example: If Team A is 4 UP with three holes remaining, it wins the match 4&3.

Concessions: Unlike stroke-play golf, teams or players do not need to complete each hole. Strokes (usually putts) may be conceded by the opponent if they are deemed highly makable or if attempting the stroke will not result in winning or tying the hole.

2026 Presidents Cup teams

Automatic qualifiers

Captain's picks

2026 Presidents Cup schedule

All times Eastern

Sunday, Sept. 27

Round 5 (singles): 12:02 p.m.

Live TV coverage: 12-6 p.m. on NBC, Fubo (Try for free)
Live stream: 12-6 p.m. on Peacock