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Australia\u2019s Min Woo Lee was front and centre with big fightbacks in both sessions of the day, and the 28-year-old has quickly become one of his team\u2019s leading men in just his second Presidents Cup.<\/p>\n
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler was once again in the spotlight for the wrong reasons as US captain Brandt Snedeker\u2019s big call on his superstar raised eyebrows.<\/p>\n
While a monster final day of 12 singles matches – with the Internationals needing five points for victory – awaits after International team captain Geoff Ogilvy rolled the dice on a bold strategy when setting the match-ups.<\/p>\n
His approach will put to the test in a pressure cooker environment with the presence of one big name set to completely shift the atmosphere in Chicago.<\/p>\n
Scroll down for the biggest talking points from day three of the Presidents Cup!<\/p>\n
\ufeffBOILOVER ON: Internationals silence US as Aussie inspires \u2018amazing\u2019 Presidents Cup resurgence<\/a><\/p>\n Min Woo Lee of Australia and the International Team reacts to a missed putt on the eighth green during Saturday’s Foursome matches on day three of the Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah Country Club on September 26, 2026 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox \/ GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA \/ Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n MIN WOO BECOMES MAIN MAN <\/p>\n Earlier this month, International team captain Geoff Ogilvy told a group of Australian journalists that Min Woo Lee will \u201cplay a big part\u201d<\/a> in this Presidents Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cYou would think with his flare for big crowds and entertaining, he would thrive in this environment. So, we\u2019ll get him out there as much as we can,\u201d Ogilvy said.<\/p>\n The Australian stayed true to his word regarding his countryman and it has turned out to be one of his most inspired decisions at Medinah.<\/p>\n Lee made his Presidents Cup debut in Montreal two years ago.<\/p>\n He was sent out alongside fellow Australian Adam Scott on the opening day.<\/p>\n Then, the West Australian was unsighted until the final day\u2019s singles.<\/p>\n International team captain Mike Weir kept the excitement machine on the sidelines, and that while hindsight is 20\/20, it is call that now looks ridiculous given how Lee has taken to team golf with a plomb.<\/p>\n The Australian made vital contributions on a marathon third day.<\/p>\n The 28-year-old and Sungjae Im won two of the last four holes to tie their morning four-ball match with Justin Thomas and US rookie Jackson Koivun.<\/p>\n Lee then teamed up with Open champion Ryan Fox once again to come from behind to defeat world No.8 Sam Burns and US Open champion Wyndham Clark 3&2.<\/p>\n It was the Australian and Kiwi\u2019s second win together after they downed Clark and Collin Morikawa yesterday.<\/p>\n While Lee and Im took Burns and world No.1 Scottie Scheffler to the 18th green on the opening day.<\/p>\n Lee is one of five Internationals – alongside Im, Corey Conners, Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim – to have played all four sessions so far.<\/p>\n His standing within the team has clearly taken a major uptick this time around.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely a better player than two years ago. Two years ago I was pretty nervous in the team environment format, but this week I felt very comfortable,\u201d Lee told reporters at Medinah after a marathon third day. <\/p>\n \u201cStill nervous, of course, but felt like I could take the chaos a little bit and trust my game. Yes, I am tired. There\u2019s a lot more golf than two years ago. It\u2019s been good. It\u2019s been good. Not much sleep last night, but nice to get the win on the board.\u201d<\/p>\n While he may be feeling the pinch of a big schedule, the positive for Lee heading into his singles showdown with Jacob Bridgeman is that he also clearly has another gear in him.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew that I haven\u2019t started very well in the matches, but when the back nine comes, me and Foxy did a great job of flipping that match, and Sungjae this morning. There\u2019s something early that I don\u2019t like, and there\u2019s something good that I really like,\u201d Lee said. <\/p>\n \u201cI think a few of the boys had that mentality too. Obviously not the perfect scenario, but we did a good job to take some halves in the morning or a W too. Our job was to win the session, and we quite didn\u2019t do that, but we knew the guys were going to be firing and have — you know, start well. Yeah, I think we did a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE – \ufeff\u2018Need a few more answers\u2019: Smith casts doubt on LIV future as \u2018downsides\u2019 revealed<\/a><\/p>\n MEDINAH, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 26: Min Woo Lee of Australia and the International Team plays his shot from the third tee during Saturday’s Four-ball matches on day three of the Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah Country Club on September 26, 2026 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n While Ogilvy is not resting on his laurels, but is undoubtedly pleased with his call to back in Lee as one of his main men.<\/p>\n \u201cMin Woo, he loves this environment obviously. He\u2019s a far improved player from two years ago. He was a great player two years ago, but he\u2019s a really, really good player now,\u201d the 2006 US Open champion said. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s had a bit more experience up on top of leaderboards. He\u2019s just been having a whole lot of fun. So when a guy\u2019s having a lot of fun, they\u2019re usually doing all right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018INSANE DECISION\u2019 BACK FIRES ON AMERICANS<\/p>\n Much has been made during this Presidents Cup of Scottie Scheffler\u2019s underwhelming record in teams events<\/a>.<\/p>\n But at the end of the morning session on the penultimate day of the event, the world No.1 appeared to spring to life.<\/p>\n He drained a massive putt on the 15th to tie he and Sam Burns\u2019 four-ball match against the Japanese duo of Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisastune.<\/p>\n The typically reserved Scheffler uncharacteristically let out an array of roars, fist pumps and high-fives.<\/p>\n It was perhaps the most animated anyone has ever seen the four-time major champion on a golf course and the tide felt like it was turning.<\/p>\n Scheffler and Burns\u2019 comeback in the final match of the morning four-balls ensured that the Americans won the session, chipped away at the deficit and gathered some momentum heading into the afternoon foursomes.<\/p>\n The Chicago crowd were up-and-about as a result, and seemed ready to come along for the ride for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n Then, Scheffler was benched.<\/p>\n USA captain Brandt Snedeker made the huge call to leave his biggest star on the sidelines.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like the world No. 1 was alive and it was definitely an hour where he was as engaged and as fired up as he\u2019s been in these team cups,\u201d Fried Egg Golf\u2019s Brendan Porath wrote of the end of Scheffler and Burns\u2019 morning victory. <\/p>\n \u201cThe line-up cards may have been due before it really hit full roar but he goes from that explosion to the bench.\u201d<\/p>\n There was clear method to Snedeker\u2019s madness.<\/p>\n For starters, the alternate shot format is comfortably Scheffler\u2019s worst.<\/p>\n Across Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups, he has won just one of nine foursomes matches.<\/p>\n But the call was ultimately based on the desire to keep the 30-year-old fresh for the singles.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I said at the beginning of the week, Scottie Scheffler is not going to go out there and win us 15 points, so we\u2019ve got to go out there as a team and do this together,\u201d Snedeker said. <\/p>\n \u201cI challenged the guys this afternoon to go out there and be that team that we need them to be and got Scottie some much needed rest so he can go out there tomorrow and be the Scottie Scheffler that we know he is.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: \ufeffPresidents Cup is a sleeping giant after decades of torture. Australia is key to a dramatic awakening<\/a><\/p>\n Despite the clear reasoning behind the decision, it became a major talking point for the day.<\/p>\n The general sentiment was surely that you need your best player out there when you are trying to make up ground.<\/p>\n Of course, you want Scheffler firing for his best format, the singles, but it seems a bit strange that the Americans were eager to manage the 30-year-old\u2019s workload despite not having played an event since winning the Tour Championship.<\/p>\n It was not exactly apples for apples with 46-year-old Adam Scott, who sat out the morning session for the Internationals.<\/p>\n Snedeker then raised eyebrows with his comments in a television interview at the end of the day\u2019s play.<\/p>\n \u201cSo proud of how they\u2019ve kind of hung in there this week despite all of my mistakes,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re doing great. I\u2019m so proud of them. Can\u2019t wait to see them go out there tomorrow and compete.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Scheffler decision was unpopular, many experts believe Snedeker is not to blame for the Americans being in a precarious position.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s being hard on himself. I think most of his decisions have been pretty sound,\u201d three-time Presidents Cup vice-captain Tony Johnstone said on Sky Sports.<\/p>\n \u201cScheffler might be tired, he might have a niggle, who knows. He\u2019s carrying a lot of pressure on his shoulders when he\u2019s world No 1.<\/p>\n \u201cThe target is on your back then. I think most of the Internationals would put their hands up and want to play against Scheffler.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t really see many mistakes he\u2019s made.\u201d<\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. Team and his wife, Meredith, celebrate with Captain Brandt Snedeker of the U.S. Team during Saturday’s Four-ball matches on day three of the Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah Country Club on September 26, 2026 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Sarah Stier\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n While former European Ryder Cup Paul McGinley added on Live From The Presidents Cup: \u201cI think his players have let him down.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were up in all eight matches today and barely gained an advantage. That\u2019s not good enough.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not their first rodeo. They\u2019ve done Presidents Cup together, Ryder Cup together. They haven\u2019t always won but there\u2019s got to be lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt looked to me like an American team that came here thinking it was a done deal,\u201d McGinley added.<\/p>\n DOES SCOTTY\u2019S BIG MOMENT AWAIT?<\/p>\n The Americans may be licking their wounds, but Adam Scott will have certainly been stressing the message in the International team room that this is far from over.<\/p>\n The 2013 Masters champion, in his 12th Presidents Cup, has been in this position before, but is yet to taste victory.<\/p>\n It is the fourth time the Internationals have led heading into the singles and the first time on American soil, but the scars of other near misses linger for Scott.<\/p>\n On debut in 2003, the Internationals led by three heading into the final day in South Africa before the Cup was famously shared as captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player agreed to a tie with the scores level and darkness engulfing the course.<\/p>\n The one that stings most, however, was that the Internationals led by two points with a day to play at Royal Melbourne in 2019.<\/p>\n Playing captain Tiger Woods inspired the American fight back that day and all supporters of the Internationals will be hopeful that Scott\u2019s team can be galvanised to do it for him like their rivals did for Woods seven years ago.<\/p>\n Just about every member of the International team mentioned that they want to win it for Scott in their pre-event press conferences.<\/p>\n The Australian veteran certainly has no doubts about how his team can harness their collective spirit into a drought-breaking triumph.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d just say one thing that I\u2019ve always kind of observed and expressed to the guys is although we probably all come from very different backgrounds all over the world, we\u2019ve all had to leave home to kind of follow our chosen path in golf,\u201d Scott said yesterday.<\/p>\n \u201cGenerally we\u2019ve all ended up on the PGA Tour, and we share that in common. We\u2019ve kind of left home and got out of our comfort zone and had to get comfortable somewhere else. So that is one thing we all share.\u201d<\/p>\n The key person to make victory a reality might be Scott\u2019s mate from across the Ditch.<\/p>\n Multiple pundits identified New Zealand\u2019s Ryan Fox as the man who can will the Internationals home, getting the job done just like he did at Royal Birkdale in July.<\/p>\n \u201cFox, probably. The Open champion, he\u2019s a steady Eddie. The way he and Lee came back today was brilliant,\u201d three-time Presidents Cup vice-captain Tony Johnstone said on Sky Sports.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s unflappable, I wouldn\u2019t want to play Fox in match play.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re all capable players but where do you put them in the pack?\u201d<\/p>\n Ryan Fox of New Zealand and the International Team and his caddie Dean Smith on the 15th green during Saturday’s Foursome matches on day three of the Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah Country Club on September 26, 2026 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox \/ GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA \/ Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n OGILVY\u2019S BIG GAMBLE <\/p>\n The Internationals\u2019 quest to end their drought will ultimately come down to captain Geoff Ogilvy\u2019s singles strategy.<\/p>\n Needing to claim five points from 12 matches on the final day, the Australian opted to break with convention.<\/p>\n Former professional Brandel Chamblee said before this year\u2019s Presidents Cup began that the International team would need to recreate Muhammad Ali\u2019s famous approach from his legendary 1974 \u2018Rumble in the Jungle\u2019 heavyweight boxing title win over the previously unbeaten George Foreman.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the equivalent of the rope-a-dope. I\u2019ve never seen a captain do anything like this on purpose,\u201d Chamblee said on Live From The Presidents Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in for one topsy turvy almost unprecedented singles competition,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Chamblee certainly did not believe it to be a negative, however.<\/p>\n He hailed the strategy as \u201cabsolutely brilliant\u201d and was full of praise for Ogilvy\u2019s ploy of keeping his best, most in-form players away from America\u2019s superstars.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they put (Scottie) Scheffler out there, they put (Nico) Echavarria – their weakest player,\u201d Chamblee said.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe Echavarria plays out of his skin because his ceiling is high. This guy\u2019s won three times. He can go. He can play when he\u2019s on. Maybe they get half a point out of that.<\/p>\n \u201cBut they\u2019re not going to risk losing one of their best players.<\/p>\n \u201cAll they have to do is get five points out of these 12. Why would they risk going strength-for-strength against a team that is far superior?\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: He\u2019s Aussie golf\u2019s forgotten major champ. That could change if he pulls off an even bigger career feat<\/a><\/p>\n MEDINAH, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 26: Captain Geoff Ogilvy of Australia and the International Team shakes hands with Wyndham Clark of the U.S. Team on the 16th green during Saturday’s Foursome matches on day three of the Presidents Cup 2026 at Medinah Country Club on September 26, 2026 in Medinah, Illinois. Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images\/AFP (Photo by Kevin C. Cox \/ GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA \/ Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n While Adam Scott, Si Woo Kim, Min Woo Lee, Nick Taylor and Ryan Fox will not head out until the final five singles matches, Ogilvy will be confident in the likes of Tom Kim, Corey Conners and Sungjae Im being able to carry their form forward and get some points on the board in the early matches.<\/p>\n Former European Ryder Cup Paul McGinley was not as emphatic about the approach as Chamblee, however.<\/p>\n The Irishman believes the strategy is a risk the Internationals \u201cprobably had to take\u201d, but warned the visitors that they are playing with fire. <\/p>\n \u201cI am certainly surprised because they are playing away from home,\u201d McGinley said on Live From The Presidents Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve given America a chance to eat into that lead and maybe pass that lead, but importantly, what they\u2019re going to concede more than anything is the crowd noise.<\/p>\n \u201cIf America come out of the blocks, like they should do with the strength they\u2019ve got at the top – against the relative weakness of the Internationals – that should really buoy the whole crowd.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president is going to be on site tomorrow. There\u2019s going to be a lot of razzmatazz.\u201d<\/p>\n WILL TRUMP APPEARANCE HAVE AN IMPACT?<\/p>\n Paul McGinley touched on it.<\/p>\n The presence of US president Donald Trump will undoubtedly shift the mood at Medinah.<\/p>\n Reports emerged during the third day of play at the Presidents Cup that Trump has requested to deliver a 15-minute address at the first tee before play begins.<\/p>\n It remains to be scene whether that will take place, but the Americans will be hoping that the commander in chief\u2019s presence will have an opposite effect to what it did at Bethpage Black last year.<\/p>\n Trump arrived at the New York course on the second morning of the Ryder Cup to try inspire a comeback.<\/p>\n It failed to eventuate despite his efforts to rile up the crowd by walking Bryson DeChambeau to the first tee.<\/p>\n