Medinah to host 2026 Presidents Cup
If you were looking for some good news, we got some Friday morning.
Confirming a Daily Herald report from earlier this week, the PGA Tour announced the 16th Presidents Cup will be coming to Medinah Country Club in 2026.
Medinah has previously hosted the 2012 Ryder Cup, two PGA Championships, three U.S. Opens, the 1988 U.S. Senior Open, three Western Opens and the 2019 BMW Championship.
The announcement comes on the anniversary of the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia, where the Tiger Woods-led U.S. team defeated captain Ernie Els and the International Team in one of the best Presidents Cups to date.
"As the significance of the Presidents Cup continues to grow, we look forward to showcasing the 2026 event from one of the world's great sporting and cosmopolitan cities in Chicago and a storied venue in Medinah Country Club," said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. "One year ago, we saw an influx of great young talent on the International Team taking on a very experienced U.S. Team that resulted in a dramatic four days of competition for our fans throughout the world.
"I fully expect that competitive momentum to continue in the coming years."
Team USA has dominated the The Presidents Cup, going 11-1-1, but two of the last three have been very close.
In 2015 in South Korea, American Bill Haas - son of team captain Jay Haas - clinched the victory on the final hole, and last year in Australia, Team USA won 16-14 for Captain Woods, who also played and went 3-0-0.
The Internationals are starting to form a terrific roster, with youngsters like Abraham Ancer, Cam Smith, Haotong Li, Sungjae Im, Joaquin Niemann, Christiann Bezuidenhout, Erik Van Rooyen, Carlos Ortiz, Sebastian Munoz and Dylan Frittelli, joining veterans such as Jason Day, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen and Hideki Matsuyama.
The 2026 event will be a home game for the United States, but as Medinah No. 3 undergoes a redesign over the next few years, the opportunity to turn the track into more of a shot-makers course, and less of a bomb-and-gouge festival, means the International squad might not feel so far from home.
"Medinah members are honored to host the 2026 Presidents Cup matches on our famed Course No. 3, adding to our 90-year history of hosting golf's most prestigious championships, and producing some of golf's most memorable outcomes," said Michael Scimo, Medinah's bid chairman. "The club is excited about providing a terrific venue for the teams and fans from around the world to experience one of the premier events on golf's biennial calendar.
"We also acknowledge and appreciate the strong support we have received from the PGA Tour, DuPage County and the Chicago Sports Commission that helped bring the 2026 Presidents Cup matches to Medinah."
If it's only half as good as the 2012 Ryder Cup, Chicago sports fans are in for a thrill in 2026.