Team USA captain Brandt Snedeker gave President Trump full credit for the energy that powered a historic Sunday singles rally to a 17-13 Presidents Cup win at Medinah.
The Americans erased a 10½-7½ deficit, the first time they had trailed on home soil entering the final session, and closed out the International team with a dominant singles performance at Medinah Country Club in Illinois.
Snedeker made clear who he believed delivered the spark. After the trophy was secured, the U.S. captain singled out the event’s honorary chairman in front of the crowd and cameras.
OutKick reported Snedeker’s direct thanks to the president who had told him earlier he would bring energy the team needed.
"One last shoutout: Donald Trump. President Trump. He told me, 'I [am] going to bring energy today for you. You guys need it,'"
Snedeker followed immediately with the line that defined the moment.
"I told him if we did this, he gets all the credit. So, thank you, President Trump."
Trump had stood on the first tee before the singles matches began and kept his remarks short, exactly as the players preferred.
He noted the reception he received and brushed aside expected media framing, then offered one clear assessment of the national mood before stepping aside so the golf could start.
"You know, the fake news media will say I get a very bad reception. But we get a good reception."
"I'll only say this: Our country is doing great, better than ever before."
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp had asked if Trump wanted to speak longer. The president declined, saying the fans came for golf, not speeches.
The United States won nine of the 12 Sunday singles matches and outscored the Internationals 9½-2½ on the final day. That margin produced the largest final-day rout in tournament history and locked up the Americans’ 11th consecutive Presidents Cup title.
The New York Post noted Trump remained on site through the trophy presentation after watching the comeback unfold from the first tee onward.
Entering the week the Americans had already won 10 straight Cups and every previous home contest. The victory at Medinah made it nine straight on home soil and pushed the all-time series record to 14-1-1.
Friday had looked ugly. The Internationals swept the foursomes session 5-0, turning a slim U.S. lead into a 7-3 hole. Saturday brought a modest American edge of 4½-3½, yet the home side still trailed by three points when Sunday dawned.
That set up the largest final-day charge the event has seen. Cameron Young led off and erased an early deficit to beat Ryo Hisatsune 3&2. Justin Thomas, the match-play specialist sitting on a 20-10-5 career Cups record, blitzed Corey Conners 5&3 after winning five of the first six holes.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler closed out Nico Echavarria 2&1. Rookie Chris Gotterup, 27, ground out a 1-up win over Christiaan Bezuidenhout and finished the week 3-1. Collin Morikawa edged Hideki Matsuyama 1 up after the match reached the 18th all square.
Patrick Cantlay supplied one of the day’s signature moments, holing a 57-foot birdie putt from just off the 16th green against Adam Scott, then yelling “YES! YES!” before finishing the Australian 2&1.
Twenty-one-year-old Auburn product Jackson Koivun shook hands with Trump before his match, then rallied from 2 down at the turn against Si Woo Kim. Koivun won holes 11, 12, 13 and 15, took a 1-up lead to the 18th, and stuck his approach to eight feet. Kim lipped out a birdie try from 15 feet. The point pushed the U.S. total to 14½.
Xander Schauffele survived a late wobble, he was 4 up with four to play, lost the 15th and 16th, then still closed Ryan Fox 2&1. Russell Henley halved with Nick Taylor for the only non-win among the American points that mattered.
The clinching moment belonged to another rookie. Jacob Bridgeman buried an eight-foot par putt on the 16th after Min Woo Lee missed a four-footer, then finished the Australian 1 up with a par on the 18th green. That point delivered the Cup.
Just The News reported the Americans’ 11th straight victory came with the president in attendance on Sunday in Illinois, framing the result as another clear home triumph.
Not every American had a clean week. Wyndham Clark, the lone U.S. men’s major winner in 2026 after his U.S. Open title, finished 1-4 and lost to Tom Kim, who led all scorers with four points. Sam Burns fell to Sungjae Im. Those results could not slow the Sunday wave.
Trump’s turn as honorary chairman placed him in the middle of a high-profile American sporting success at a moment when his public schedule remains full. Readers tracking those appearances have seen him field questions about travel and staffing with the same direct style he showed on the first tee at Medinah.
The golf itself supplied the substance. Seven Americans ranked inside the world top 10. The International side’s highest-ranked player, Si Woo Kim, sat at No. 14. Rankings do not always decide match play, yet the depth gap showed once the singles draw was posted.
Snedeker’s lineup choices paid off early. Young set the tone. Thomas and Scheffler followed in the third and fourth slots and never let the Internationals breathe. By the time Cantlay and Morikawa posted their wins, the United States led 13½-12½ with four matches still on the course. Koivun’s point and Bridgeman’s clincher finished the job.
The same president who drew laughs explaining scheduling details has also been reshaping key portfolios inside his administration. His recent reliance on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in sensitive briefings, even as other voices recede, reflects the same instinct Snedeker praised: put energy and accountability where the pressure is highest.
Medinah’s Sunday also washed away the memory of last year’s Ryder Cup loss at Bethpage Black, where the Americans fell 15-13 to Europe despite winning the singles session. The next Ryder Cup lands at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027. The Presidents Cup result gives the U.S. side a clean slate and a proven formula for closing on home grass.
Legal and political fights continue on parallel tracks. Trump’s team has moved aggressively to consolidate cases, a strategy that has opposing counsel on edge, while separate immigration litigation has absorbed high-profile setbacks from state-level decisions.
None of those battles were on the first tee Sunday. What was on the tee was a president willing to show up, keep the speech short, and let the players work. Snedeker noticed. The scoreboard noticed. The final margin noticed.
Tom Kim’s four points led the International side, and the visitors’ Friday foursomes sweep briefly raised the possibility of a genuine upset. By late Sunday that threat had vanished under a hail of American birdies and clutch pars. The home crowd that Trump greeted got exactly the finish it wanted.
Chris Gotterup’s 3-1 debut week and Jackson Koivun’s comeback from two down supplied the rookie backbone. Justin Thomas reminded everyone why captains keep writing his name in match-play formats. Scottie Scheffler did what the world’s best player is supposed to do on Sunday afternoon.
Former Trump attorney Alina Habba has moved into a new personal chapter, with wedding plans now public, yet the broader circle around the president continues to treat visible American wins as fuel worth celebrating in real time.
The numbers remain simple. United States 17, International 13. Eleven straight Cups. Nine straight on home soil. A captain who looked at the honorary chairman and said the credit belongs there.
When a captain hands the president the credit in public after a comeback that large, it is not flattery. It is a working assessment of who showed up and what changed once he did.