Presidents Cup Day 1: US Leads 3-2, But Winning Fourballs Is Not Winning Foursomes

From Rangpur, I watched the 18th green at Medinah near midnight. Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns won their fourballs match 1 up on the final hole, giving the United States a 3-2 lead after Thursday's opening session. Four of the five matches were decided by margins of two holes or more — 4&3, 3&1, 3&2, 3&2 — and only the headline match reached the 18th. The scoreline looks controlled, but fourballs is the most forgiving team format: the lower partner score counts, so one bad round can be hidden. The US has led after day one in nine of the last ten Presidents Cups and is chasing an eleventh straight victory. The Internationals drew inspiration from the 2026 'Miracle at Medinah' Ryder Cup comeback, but that was a borrowed narrative from a stronger event. Friday switches to foursomes, alternate-shot play, where a poor shot cannot be erased by a partner. The 3-2 lead is therefore fragile. Rookie Jackson Koivun won 4&3 with Justin Thomas, a safe debut format. Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune beat Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele 3&1, while Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim won 3&2 — two points from chemistry-driven International pairings. No ShotLink data was available in the report, so technical verdicts would be speculation. The real test begins on Friday: foursomes does not carry fourballs form. Whether Koivun plays foursomes, and whether the Japanese and Korean pairings keep their chemistry, will tell us more than Thursday's score.