Here is a complete look at the final grades for all 24 players at Medinah, including the standouts who impressed, the contenders who battled through adversity and those who struggled to find their best form.
There were stellar performances and those to mostly be forgotten, and here’s our report card for the week.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (1-1-0): C-
If anybody chooses to second-guess Ogilvy sitting Bezuidenhout for all but two matches, it might be warranted. Yes, the South African player may lose his PGA Tour card at the end of this year. It was a tough spot for everybody on the International side considering that Bezuidenhout earned his way onto the team on points. But Ogivly chose well by putting him in Friday foursomes with Adam Scott where they dominated Justin Thomas and Cameron Young in a win … and then Bezuidenhout didn’t see action again until Sunday. All considering, he fared pretty well, too, taking the hot-handed Chris Gotterup to the 18th hole in a 1-down loss. May he use this as motivation for the rest of the Fall Series, which he starts on Thursday in Utah.
Corey Conners (2-3-0): C-
The fact that the Internationals needed the 54th-ranked player in the world to play five times speaks about their lack of depth. This was Conners’ third Cup and his overall record now is 4-10-0 after Justin Thomas routed him in singles. Statistically, the Canadian was his team’s worst player, losing nearly six strokes. He did get two wins, including a fun one with countryman Nick Taylor over Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns in Day 2 foursomes.
Nico Echavarria (0-2-0): C-
The Colombian was easily the least-known player from either side, despite having three PGA Tour wins and being the 61st player in the world. And Ogivly didn’t do his stature any favors by playing him only twice. In fact, he benched him for two days after Echavarria played poorly, making one birdie in 15 holes in a Thursday fourball loss. He was then presented for sacrifice in singles against Scottie Scheffler. Give Echavarria credit—he never led but took the World No. 1 to the 17th hole before losing, 2 and 1.
Ryan Fox (2-2-0): C
It had already been a dream year for the Kiwi with his Open Championship triumph. To play on his first Cup team was the icing, and Fox looked to maybe eat the whole cake when he rallied from an opening loss to get two big with his close mate, Si Woo Kim. But the long week may have just worn him out, because in the anchor singles match, Fox shot one over for the first 11 holes, and three-birdie rally late wasn’t enough in losing, 2 and 1, to Xander Schauffele.
Ryo Hisatsune (1-2-0): C-
Ogilvy gave the rising Japanese star a strong mentor in putting him twice together with countryman Hideki Matsuyama. But the the strong ballstriker didn’t have his best stuff, and they split their fourball matches. Hisatsune jumped 2 up early on Sunday with birdies against Cam Young, but he wouldn’t make another birdie until the final hole and the American swamped him 3 and 2.
Sungjae Im (2-2-1): B-
In his fourth Cup, Im played with three different partners here and the results were mixed. He got his one team win with Hideki Matsuyama, earned only a half-point with Min Woo Lee in two tries and then got blown out with Adam Scott going against Chris Gotterup and Cam Young. In all of that, he had the best strokes gained among the Internationals at nearly plus-9, and he came through early on Sunday by earning the Internationals’ second singles point, beating Sam Burns, 3 and 1.
Si Woo Kim (3-2-0): B
As long as Si Woo Kim has Tom Kim by his side, he’s a world beater. We joke, because the World No. 14 player is a tremendous player in his own right. And this week, his strokes-gained total was more than two shots better than his buddy. But the final day and a half didn’t go well but Si Woo. He and Tom lost on Saturday afternoon, and on Sunday he ran up against the rising star in Jackson Koivun. Even then, Kim made four birdies to have a 1-up lead through 11. But the American rallied with three late birdies, including at 18, to clip the veteran.
Tom Kim (4-1-0): A
This guy comes to the Presidents Cup, especially in the States, with a huge target on his back. He’s gotten under the skin with antics that have riled both American fans and players, and he hadn’t really fully lived up to showmanship with a medicore 3-5-1 record coming here. But give him credit—Kim kept the histrionics to a couple of ear tugs this week, and he delivered his side’s best performance by getting a team-best four points. There was even the drama of Kim having to leave soon after his Sunday match to fly to Japan, but he gave himself plenty of time by routing Wyndham Clark, 3 and 2. This must be a heartbreaking loss for Kim.
Min Woo Lee (2-2-1): C-
There were two late losses that stung the Internationals on Sunday, and Lee’s was probably the most brutal. In a tight match with Jacob Bridgeman, the Australian held a 1-up lead through 15, but missed short putts at the 16th and 17th, and then ended up losing with a bogey at the 18th. Heading into Sunday, Lee was doing fine, overcoming an opening loss by getting two victories with Ryan Fox.
Hideki Matsuyama (2-2-0): B
Like Adam Scott, Matsuyama has to be frustrated by the mounting Cup losses, having now suffered his seven straight defeat. But he played better than Scott this week, notching two wins over the first two days. A setback followed in Saturday fourball, but Matsuyama looked strong early on Sunday being 2 up over Collin Morikawa. But it would come down to putting—misses by the Japenese and two made bombs from the American—an electric 45-foot birdie on No. 4 and a 30-footer on 15. Matusyama then lost when he missed the fairway at 18 to make bogey.
Adam Scott (1-3-0): D
This is a hard one. Arguably the classiest player in golf has deserved better than zero wins over 12 Presidents Cups. But the truth is, Scott has just not been a very strong contributor to his International sides, winning 23 total points in the 58 matches he’s played. And in what figures to be his last Cup at age 46, Scott played decently but once again couldn’t be a difference-maker, with just one victory (in Friday foursomes). He didn’t go out on a high note, either, by trailing Patrick Cantlay from the second hole on in and 2-and-1 loss. We’ll raise a toast to him, nonetheless.
Nick Taylor (2-1-1): B+
At Medinah, the Canadian did what he always does—putt out of his mind when it matters most. He was, by far, the best on then greens for either team with a strokes gained of 4.31. But, oddly, his most memorable shot of the week came with a wedge, with Taylor stuffing his approach to gimme range to secure a win with his countryman Corey Conners against Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns in Friday foursomes. With 2½ points, we’d say it was a successful Cup debut for the 38-year-old, even while notching the only tie on Sunday, against Russell Henley, with the American never trailing.
UNITED STATES
Jacob Bridgeman (1-2-0): C+
Bridgeman was an arguable captain’s pick for Brandt Snedeker, and he wasn’t exactly making his skipper look good by going 0-2 over the first three days. But maybe it could be argued that pairing Bridgeman and another top putter, Russell Henley, wasn’t the brightest choice. Bridgeman didn’t deliver either, ending in minus territory in strokes gained on the greens. But when a big point was needed late, the World No. 20 delivered by winning two of the last three holes to beat Min Woo Lee. It was a point that he and Snedeker badly needed.
Sam Burns (2-3-0): C
As one of three players to be in five matches. Burns had his bright spots—he hit his approach to 4 feet on 16 and stuck another approach close on 17 as he and Scottie Scheffler closed out a 2-and-1 fourball victory on Saturday for the duo’s second win of the week. But Burns also lost matches with Scheffler and Wyndham Clark, and though he battled to come back from three deficits in singles, Sungjae Im wore him down in a 3-and-1 loss.
Patrick Cantlay (2-2-0): B
Cantlay made a late, strong run in the PGA Tour season to earn a captain’s pick, and his 10-4 record in the Presidents Cup indicated that he’d produce nicely at Medinah. It didn’t exactly go to chalk, however, when he and favored partner Xander Schauffele lost their first two teams matches. Snedeker gave them a rest on Saturday morning, and the energy was back in a critical win on Saturday afteroon. That was the spark they both needed, and Cantlay took care of Adam Scott, never trailing to win 2 and 1.
Wyndham Clark (1-4-0): C
Look, this is a tough grade because of the record, but Clark also produced the single-strangest strokes-gained stat of this Cup. The reigning U.S. Open champ notched a second-best total strokes gained for the Americans of just over plus-6, and his best performance was in putting—which seems to be a huge part of match play. Blame it on his partners? Three of the defeats came with Collin Morikawa, who trailed Clark by five strokes. Predictably, then, Clark even had a tough loss in singles when he was tied with Tom Kim through nine holes, but saw the Korean make four birdies down the stretch to win 3 and 2. There will consolation, no doubt, in holding the trophy.
Chris Gotterup (3-1-0): A
If there was a revelatory player in team play this week, it was Gotterup, whose stature in the game is skyrocketing. The Cup rookie lost his opening match, alongside Cantlay, but Gotterup’s stellar putting led to two Saturday victories with Cameron Young. For the week, he led the U.S. with 4.77 strokes gained in putting, and in singles against a game Christiaan Bezuidenhout, he used three early birdies to get up early and never trail. Put him on the roster right now for next year’s Ryder Cup.
Russell Henley (0-2-1): C
Half-grade lower than Jacob Bridgeman—they are pretty much the same guy—because Henley lost a back-nine lead and tied Nick Taylor. It was only a 1-up lead against a guy who is a great closer and it was in the penultimate match. It also was the only tie of the 12 matches on Sunday.
Jackson Koivun (2-0-1): A
We’d say the 21-year-old lived up to the hype. The internal pressure must have been enomrous, considering Snedeker chose Koivun over several worthwhile veterans, and his Cub debut could have gone either way. But the smart money was on a precocious player who already has accomplished loads in the game. And after a nervy opening match in which Justin Thomas carried him, Koviun settled in and got two points, including a single wins over Si Woo Kim with a back-nine charge. He could very well be the Americans’ next JT.
Collin Morikawa (2-2-0): B
Whatever pain Morikawa is feeling with his back injury, he’s certainly toughing it out, and that includes the key point her earned in singles against another two-time major winner, Hideki Matsuyama. It was a great match, too, with the American producing fireworks with an unlikely club—his putter—in an ultimate 1-up win.
Xander Schauffele (2-2-0): B
This Cup was pretty much looking like Schauffele’s season, which hardly lived up to his high expectations. Then he and Patrick Cantlay went 0-2 and it was looking rough when Snedeker sat the pair. But they rallied late on Saturday, as they did two years ago, and Schauffele dug down to find a bit of his usual self in never trailing while beating major winner Ryan Fox, 2 and 1.
Scottie Scheffler (3-1-0): A
Scottie got a little testy with NBC’s Cara Banks after winning on Sunday, and we’re scratching our heads as to why. His team was well on his way to winning and he capped this Cup with a singles victory over Nico Echavarria. If anything, we’re happy for him to put to bed, at least for a year, the talk of the World No. 1 not being great in team play. Scheffler’s three points tied for the team lead for the week, and he was his usually consistent self, topping the Americans in strokes gained/tee-to-green. Boy, does he deserve the rest after a grinding year in the spotlight.
Justin Thomas (2-1-1): B
A somwhat controversial captain’s pick, the U.S. stalwart really did most of what Snedeker had hoped. Thomas showed Koivun the team ropes and they earned 1½ points together, and then it just felt like the best Amercan Cup player of his era was ready to go off in singles. He did by blowing out Corey Conners 5 and 3. Remarkably, it was Thomas’ first singles win in four tries in the Presidents Cup when he’s 3-0 in the Ryder Cup. Bottom line: JT did nothing to discourage any future captain’s picks.
Cameron Young (3-2-0): A-
Hard to believe that the guy who started the week with two losses would end up being the best American player, but that’s an easy call. His strokes gained for the week: a whopping 10.5. Young found a happy partnership with Chris Gotterup, and they put two points on the board on Saturday. The New Yorker earned the frontrunner No. 1 spot on Sunday and blew open a tight match by winning three consecutive holes from 11-13 to beat Hisatsune, 3 and 2. Capped it with a classy birdie from 31 feet at the 16th to halve the hole.