Team USA Vice Captain has known Scottie Scheffler since he was seven years old. Now, as Team USA prepares for the 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah, Gary Woodland has a clear message about the world No. 1.
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“Scottie is the leader of our team,” Woodland said in a clip shared by 5 Clubs Golf on X on September 22, 2026. “At the end of the day, he’s the best player in the world. The guys look to him. His voice carries more weight.”
But the expectation Woodland described isn’t for Scheffler to suddenly become someone he isn’t. “We just want Scottie to be Scottie. We don’t want Scottie to go do anything more than be himself.”
That balance sits at the centre of what Scheffler is walking into at Medinah. He is the world No. 1, the No. 1 player in U.S. Presidents Cup standings, the reigning FedExCup champion and the statistical leader of this American roster by a significant margin. The pressure of that status is real. The team’s instruction to him is essentially: don’t add to it.
What makes Woodland’s words land harder than the usual pre-tournament praise is the comparison he reached for. “When Tiger speaks, everyone listens,” Woodland said. “When Scottie speaks in that room, the guys listen. And it’s important for him to do that.”
Woodland was careful not to say that Scheffler was the next Tiger Woods. His comparison was more specific. He was talking about the weight Scheffler’s voice carries inside the team room, not about their careers.
Scheffler has often pushed back on comparisons with Woods, saying Tiger stands alone in golf. But Woodland, who shares swing coach Randy Smith with Scheffler and practices with him regularly, has noticed a change. Woodland said Scheffler is embracing his role as a leader. He believes the world No. 1 is becoming more vocal and realizing that his teammates listen when he speaks. The change comes during another big season for Scheffler. He has won three times in 2026, taking titles at The American Express in January and the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the TOUR Championship in August. He has finished in the top 10 13 times in 20 starts and made 19 cuts. His official PGA Tour earnings have reached $30.94 million, and he now has 22 career PGA Tour wins.
But his Presidents Cup record is more mixed. Scheffler is 3-5-1 overall (1-3-0 in foursomes, 2-0-1 in fourball, and 0-2-0 in singles). He went 0-3-1 at the 2022 Presidents Cup before going 3-2-0 at Royal Montreal in 2024, according to the Presidents Cup website. So while he has been dominant in individual golf, that success has not always turned into points in team play.
Scheffler (Automatic Qualifier) will have plenty of experience around him in Medinah. The U.S. team includes Xander Schauffele (Captain’s Pick), Justin Thomas (Captain’s Pick), Collin Morikawa (Automatic Qualifier), Patrick Cantlay (Captain’s Pick), Sam Burns (Automatic Qualifier), Wyndham Clark (Automatic Qualifier), and Russell Henley (Automatic Qualifier). The team also has three rookies: Chris Gotterup (Captain’s Pick), Jacob Bridgeman (Captain’s Pick), and Jackson Koivun (Captain’s Pick).
Scheffler and Henley already have a strong history as Presidents Cup partners. They went 2-1 together at Royal Montreal in 2024. They won against Sungjae Im and Tom Kim 3&2 in session 1’s fourballs, lost to Tom Kim and Byeong Hun An 1 down in session 2’s foursomes, and won against Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im 3&2 in session 4’s foursomes.
Henley (Automatic Qualifier) is back on the 2026 team, giving captain Brandt Snedeker another familiar option if he decides to pair them again.
The U.S. team won the 2024 Presidents Cup 18.5-11.5, giving it its 10th straight victory in the event. Now, it will try to make it 11 in a row when the Presidents Cup begins in Medinah on September 24. Woodland added that Scheffler seems to be enjoying this new leadership role and is excited about it. For Woodland, the best thing the team can ask of him is simply to be himself.