Nearly two years ago, I traveled to the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic to speak with Brandt Snedeker, who had recently been named captain of the United States Presidents Cup team that will face an International roster this week at Medinah.
Chicago District Golfer Magazine and its editor, Barry Cronin, assigned the interview. As we talked about Snedeker, his plans and the importance of assembling a team that could handle the pressures of match play, Cronin was already looking ahead to Medinah.
“In a big sports city like Chicago, golf events tend to live under the radar of the newspapers and TV stations,” Cronin told me. “But the community itself is fired up about the Presidents Cup. We’re the only publication that’s covered the Presidents Cup in any depth, and we serve a core golf audience. Hospitality sales are on par with the 2012 Ryder Cup. And people are intrigued to see the massive changes Medinah has made to Course 3.”
Medinah has never needed much help building anticipation.
Some courses seem to carry more than their share of history. They hold memories in the turf. They remind you that golf, at its best, is not simply about a good drive or a well-struck iron. It is about what those shots can mean when a championship, a team event or a career begins to turn on them.
I remember serving as a young studio host for Westwood One Network’s coverage of the 1990 U.S. Open, when Hale Irwin won. That championship is remembered as much for Medinah’s difficulty as for Irwin’s durability. It was a relentless test, and Irwin, already a two-time U.S. Open champion, found a way to outlast the course and the field.
Medinah No. 3 later crowned Tiger Woods twice at the PGA Championship, in 1999 and 2006. Those were two of the 15 majors that helped define his place in the game, and each added to the sense that Medinah was a place where golf’s biggest figures could do their most important work.
Then there was the Ryder Cup 14 years ago.
Who in Chicagoland will ever forget the Miracle at Medinah? Europe began the final day facing a task that seemed nearly impossible, then produced one of the greatest Sundays in team-golf history. The Europeans beat the United States by a single point after the Americans entered Sunday with what seemed like a secure lead.
It was painful for USA golf fans, of course. But it was unforgettable for everyone who watched it unfold.
That week established something important. A golf course in suburban Chicago could become the center of the sporting world for a day. Medinah didn’t just host the Ryder Cup. It held the attention of people who may not have followed every tournament all season but knew they were watching something worth remembering.
Now it gets another opportunity, courtesy of the PGA TOUR.
The Presidents Cup does not have the Ryder Cup’s century-long magnitude, its trans-Atlantic edge or its built-in urgency. Too often, it has been one-sided, with the United States repeatedly overwhelming the International team. The Americans have won 10 consecutive Presidents Cups, a streak that makes them the clear favorite again this week.
Still, this Presidents Cup has an intriguing mix: a historic course, a hometown crowd that understands big-time sports, a renovated finishing stretch designed to create drama, and a group of players who can make the week feel bigger.
The renovation is part of the story. International captain Geoff Ogilvy is a principal at the Australian architecture firm that worked on Course No. 3, including a complete rebuilding of the last six holes.
“They’ve torn it apart and completely rebuilt the last six holes,” Cronin said. “Many golf fans will want to see it.”
That matters because the finish is where a match-play event should come alive. In team golf, a birdie does not simply lower a score. It can win a hole. It can energize a teammate. It can quiet an opposing gallery. It can change the way a player feels standing over the next tee shot.
The United States has the kind of roster one would expect from a team trying to extend such a remarkable streak. Scottie Scheffler currently defines excellence in professional golf. Watching him this week is not merely an opportunity to see the world’s best ball-striker. It is a chance to watch the top-ranked player in the game, someone who has become exceptionally difficult to beat when the heat is on.
Xander Schauffele brings major-championship credentials and a calm temperament that should translate well to team competition. Collin Morikawa remains one of the game’s finest iron players. Justin Thomas is one of its most recognizable personalities, a player without much of a poker face whose emotional investment shows with every tee shot and every putt. Patrick Cantlay brings experience, consistency and a history of being difficult to rattle.
The American side also includes Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns and Russell Henley, while Snedeker filled out his team with Chris Gotterup, Jackson Koivun and Jacob Bridgeman. Established stars, proven winners, and enough young talent suggest that American golf’s next generation has already arrived.
Ogilvy’s International side has recognizable names of its own. Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama remains one of the game’s important global figures. Adam Scott, another green-jacketed Augusta champion, is making his 12th Presidents Cup appearance. Ryan Fox arrives as the most recent Open Championship winner, while Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee bring energy, charisma and a willingness to seize a moment.
The Internationals do not need to be better than the Americans on paper. They need to make the Americans feel the pressure that comes with expectation.
That is what makes this week meaningful. The Americans are defending a high standard. The Internationals are trying to change a narrative that has gone on far too long. And Medinah, once again, is the setting where a familiar script could become something else entirely.
No course can manufacture drama. But Medinah has seen enough of it to make you believe that, if the matches become tight late Sunday afternoon, anything is possible.
