The One Pairing I Need to See for Team USA at the 2026 Presidents Cup

The goal for Team USA at Medinah should be to dismantle the International Team, just as it has done for almost the entirety of the Presidents Cup’s existence. Since the event’s debut in 1994, the rest of the world has won once, and that came in the third edition. But the Americans should also keep an eye on the horizon and Adare Manor.

While Team Europe has already taken a scouting trip to next year’s Ryder Cup host, Team USA has been preparing to play in its other biennial event, a slight inconvenience that their friends across the pond don’t have to deal with. So, to keep pace in the preparation department, the next four days outside of Chicago should be used as an experiment of sorts, a trial run on potential pairings and strategies. And there’s one pairing I’d love to see from Brandt Snedeker, and that’s Justin Thomas and Jackson Koivun.

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Koivun, who’s set to make his (professional) Team USA debut at just 21 years old, will be part of the team events for the next 15-20 years. Instead of him jumping into the deep end next year with an away Ryder Cup, he’ll don red, white, and blue in front of a friendly crowd as a way of wading into the water. As a future stalwart and backbone for the Americans, there’s no better player to learn from than Thomas.

It’s no secret that Team USA seems to have a culture problem. They fought to be paid for the Ryder Cup while the Europeans said they would pay for the privilege, and overall, their interest in the event pales in comparison to their counterparts—even though World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler resented that idea on Tuesday.

“I think that's something that's probably been frustrating for us as American players, is some of the narrative that's gone on over the course of my team match play career, is stuff like Patrick Cantlay not wearing his hat or stupid rumors that simply aren't true, like meeting in a different team room and the Americans aren't a close team…it's very much untrue…I feel like our team has really banded together over the last five or six years since I've been a part of this,” he said.

But regardless if you want to believe in the narrative or not, Thomas has shown us time and time again, whether it be a big celebration, taunting an away crowd, or feeding off home energy, it doesn’t apply to him.

If the leaders of the American side want to begin a turning of the tide of sorts, instilling Thomas’ passion and sense of genuine caring into its younger stars is exactly where they should start. Passive and indifferent shouldn’t (and can’t) be part of their vocabulary moving forward, and neither of those characteristics even slightly apply to Thomas during team events.

And if the early signs from Medinah are any indication, I might get my wish. Thomas and Koivun have played together for the last few days, often an indicator of what pairings to expect throughout the week.

So, yes, Team USA's attention should be on the Internationals and Medinah for the next four days. But it's also an opportunity to set the foundation for the next few decades of team events—and it should start with Thomas and Koivun.