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Will Americans learn from myriad Medinah mistakes?
Jacob Bridgeman (1-2): B-. His par-par-par finish earned the winning point for the Americans, and he can’t be fully criticized for his captain’s mistakes – he never should have been relegated to just foursomes, and certainly not with Henley.
Sam Burns (2-3): C+. Earned two narrow wins alongside the world No. 1, but he still seemed to shrink in the big moments. He never led in his singles match against Im.
Patrick Cantlay (2-2): B. Now 6-1 all-time in cup singles, he poured in a 55-footer on 16 just when it seemed like his advantage was slipping away. Not the prettiest week, but his Saturday afternoon foursomes win with Schauffele knocked off the previously unbeaten Kim team and kept the Americans in it.
Wyndham Clark (1-4): B-. His subpar record doesn’t tell the full story of his week – he was, statistically, the second-best player for the Americans, and he showed the necessary energy and flair when the team was down bad.
Chris Gotterup (3-1): A-. Standout debut for the big-hitting rookie, whose partnership with Young was a perfect fit for Medinah and should bode well in the future. This kid has the goods.
Russell Henley (0-2-1): D-. Supposedly a foursomes specialist because of his precise fairways-and-greens game, he really struggled with his irons and around the green. At 37, it’s unclear how many more chances he’ll get to shine on this stage – especially after a letdown late last year at Bethpage.
Jackson Koivun (2-0-1): A. After a nervy start, he settled in and validated Captain Snedeker’s bold choice to pick him despite such limited experience. His back-nine takedown of Si Woo Kim, under immense pressure, could someday prove to be a significant moment in his burgeoning career.
Collin Morikawa (2-2): B. There was a lot to like about his foursomes partnership with Clark, and his back-and-forth match with Hideki Matsuyama (that included a 30-footer for birdie on 15 and a clutch two-putt from long range on 18) was a key point for the U.S.
Xander Schauffele (2-2): B. He’s no longer the foursomes slam dunk with Cantlay, but X did enough to prove his worth, including dispatching Open champion Ryan Fox in the anchor match.
Scottie Scheffler (3-1): B+. Even without his A-game, the world No. 1 should tamp down some of the team-play criticism with a three-point performance. He didn’t play the strongest opponents, but he still dispatched them.
Justin Thomas (2-1-1): B+. An uneven performance individually, but JT took the 21-year-old Koivun under his wing and continued to masterfully serve his role as the American fire starter.
Cameron Young (3-2): A. Building on the strength of a 3-1 Ryder Cup last fall, the Players champion was – by far! – the best player on the course this week. It’s fun to see his confidence grow with each match.
Captain Brandt Snedeker: C-. The U.S. skipper survived not because of some brilliant strategic maneuvers but because there’s a massive talent disparity between the two sides. The stronger and deeper team won, as it always does.
-- Lav
INTERNATIONALS
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (1-1): C+. The South African played just a single team session, a Friday foursomes victory paired with Adam Scott, and narrowly lost to Gotterup, one of the American team’s top players, on Sunday. In three Presidents Cup starts he has a 4-2-1 record, which suggests he might have been underutilized.
Corey Conners (2-3): C-. One of five International players to go all five matches, his gritty foursomes victories on Friday and Saturday alongside fellow Canadian Nick Taylor was a massive boost. But he also fell early on Sunday to Thomas, 5 and 3.
Nico Echavarria (0-2): F. He played only a single team session, a 4-and-3 loss with Conners on Thursday, and his 2-and-1 singles loss to Scheffler wasn’t as close as it looked. According to strokes-gained data, he was also the International team’s worst performer.
Ryo Hisatsune (1-2): C. He paired well with countryman Hideki Matsuyama to win the International side’s first point of the week on Thursday, and he was 3 under through 17 holes on his way to a Day 3 fourball loss, but he struggled on the greens, losing 3.31 shots in strokes gained: putting. He also didn’t put up much of a fight in singles on his way to a 3-and-2 loss to Young.
Sungjae Im (2-2-1): B. He ran into the American side’s toughest teams – including Scheffler-Burns and Young-Gotterup – and was flawless on Sunday against Burns for a 3-and-1 victory. Not all .500 weeks are created equal, and Im might be the International side’s MVP (most versatile player).
Ryan Fox (2-2): C+. The good news: The Champion Golfer of the Year provided a foursomes boost with two victories paired with Min Woo Lee. But the bad news, of course, is he made just a single birdie paired with Adam Scott in Thursday’s fourball session and was never a factor on Sunday in the anchor match, which he lost to Schauffele.
Si Woo Kim (3-2): B. The International team’s highest-ranked player delivered in team play alongside Tom Kim, but on Sunday, when his team was spiraling and desperately needing momentum, he surrendered a 2-up lead through 10 holes against Koivun on his way to a singles loss.
Tom Kim (4-1): A. Played brilliantly paired with Si Woo Kim before running out of steam in the Saturday foursomes session, and he was a rare bright spot for the International team in singles with a commanding victory over Clark, 3 and 2. On the bright side, the Kims are a solid core for the next International captain to build on.
Min Woo Lee (2-2-1): D. Captain Ogilvy had high expectations for the Australian, who played five matches with mixed results, but statistically he was the International team’s third-worst player and he dropped a crucial singles match to Bridgeman with a bogey on the final hole.
Hideki Matsuyama (2-2): C-. He led his team on Days 1 and 2 but faded on the weekend with a shootout loss to Morikawa in singles that featured eight lead changes and a combined eight birdies. It’s a familiar theme for Matsuyama; the International team needs more from one of its stars.
Adam Scott (1-3): D-. This might not be the 46-year-old’s final Presidents Cup, but it is likely his most disappointing. It was the Australian’s best chance to finally win the biennial match, and he managed just a single point with uncharacteristically poor ball-striking.
Nick Taylor (2-1-1): B. He and Conners, both captain’s picks, were crucial to the International team’s advantage in team play, and he solidified his reputation as the team’s best clutch putter, leading his side in strokes gained: putting by more than two shots (4.31).
Captain Geoff Ogilvy: A-. Perhaps the most lopsided Sunday collapse in Presidents Cup history deserves a bit more scrutiny, but Ogilvy was brilliant for the first three days, dictating favorable matchups and keeping the American team on its heels. He ran out of magic on Sunday, when the U.S. depth overwhelmed the Internationals. But despite another loss, Ogilvy should be the frontrunner to lead the team in two years when it returns to Australia.
-- Rex