Geoff Ogilvy of Australia takes over as International captain of the Presidents Cup for 2026 at Medinah with a unique distinction from the previous eight captains. He can claim home-course advantage while trying to lead his team to victory on the road.
Ogilvy, the former U.S. Open champion, and Brandt Snedeker were introduced Tuesday as captains for 2026 in the Chicago suburbs, matches that have been so one-sided that the Americans have lost only once since they began in 1994.
Ogilvy knows the venerable No. 3 course at Medinah better than anyone because his design company — Australian-based OCM — was in charge of renovating the course that previously hosted three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup.
“It’s a humbling thing. It’s a great honor,” Ogilvy said on a conference call in Chicago. “Medinah is a place where we’ve done a lot of work, my company, the last two, three years. It’s clearly an away game, but it’s exciting to be on a course that I’ve come to know really, really well the last few years.”
Ogilvy was the clear choice even as the Americans were finishing off another victory at Royal Montreal in 2024. Snedeker, a nine-time PGA Tour winner who captured the FedEx Cup in 2012, was more surprising and didn’t get offered the job until about two weeks ago.
Snedeker played in only one Presidents Cup, in 2013 at Muirfield Village, and twice in the Ryder Cup in 2012 and 2016. He was an assistant captain to Jim Furyk in the last Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal.
Keegan Bradley also had played in only three cups when he was appointed Ryder Cup captain for this year’s event at Bethpage Black.
Medinah was the scene of Snedeker’s first team competition in 2012 at the Ryder Cup, where the Americans lost a 10-6 lead to Europe.
“It was one of probably the lowest points of my career. But I remember all the good stuff leading up to it — being part of my first team, being here in Chicago, how crazy the fans were, how awesome they were,” Snedeker said.
“Something we’re going to try to recreate here is that team-like atmosphere we had there,” he said. “Obviously, we want a different result, but it was a great experience nonetheless. Medinah is a great venue for these events, and it’s a big ballpark, and it’s going to show out well. Geoff did a phenomenal job on the redo, so the course is going to show out really, really well.
“Just look forward to the opportunity of putting the best players in the world out there on a stage like Chicago and having the fans behind us.”
The Americans have won the last 10 times in the Presidents Cup dating to a tie in South Africa in 2003. The International team — players from countries outside Europe — have been gaining ground since taking over more control of its team from the PGA Tour, which owns the event.
Key to that was a 2019 nail-biter at Royal Melbourne, when International captain Ernie Els came up with a new identity — a black and gold shield — for his team. While the Americans keep winning, Ogilvy has noticed a change in spirit and momentum for his side.
“When I first got involved in Presidents Cup … I think the hunger was there for the week and then it would dissipate quickly and then it would disappear for two years and then come back the week of the tournament,” said Ogilvy, who made his Presidents Cup debut in 2007.
He has played for Gary Player and Greg Norman, and he has been an assistant for Nick Price, Els, Trevor Immelman and Mike Weir.
Ogilvy said losing so many times only fuels motivation.
“There’s a burning determination that’s in the group that is very envious,” he said. “Every trophy ceremony when we watch — the U.S. team has the trophy — it looks like a lot of fun. It’s equally as disappointing to be on the other side of things.
“Disappointment usually fuels motivation, so the group is very passionate about it and very determined to sort of balance the ledger, if you like, and start winning this tournament a bit more regularly.”
As for the home-course advantage? The course will be routed differently to accommodate match play (not every match gets to the 18th hole). Besides, Ogilvy has been around long enough to know the world’s best players are quick studies.
“Look, I think it’s an advantage when we turn up on Monday,” Ogilvy said. “But by Thursday … the best skill I think that touring professionals have over most other golfers is they can learn a golf course really quickly.
“By the time we tee off on Thursday, anything that I can help the players out with with what we did and how we were hoping people would play the course, I imagine that the U.S. team will have it pretty worked out by then.”
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
