Follow us on Google Discover Gary Woodland has lauded how Scottie Scheffler has grown into a leader for Team USA, as he shared what the world number one will not be asked to do at the Presidents Cup this week.
Scheffler certainly has a point to prove at Medinah. Despite his dominance in the game over the last five years, the 30-year-old has an extremely poor record at the Presidents Cup.
Across his two appearances so far, Scheffler has won just three of his nine matches. In fact, he is the player on the American side who has suffered the most losses in the event. Scheffler has been on the losing side five times.
Gary Woodland discusses Scottie Scheffler’s evolution as part of Team USA
It was a somewhat frustrating 2026 season for Scheffler until the latter stages of the PGA Tour campaign, as he won two playoff events, including the Tour Championship. The question will now be whether he can make a statement while representing his country, particularly ahead of next year’s Ryder Cup in Europe.
Speaking to 5 Clubs about Scheffler’s importance to the team, vice-captain Gary Woodland insisted that the four-time major champion is becoming more comfortable with his role.
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“I think nobody is more competitive than Scottie. I’ve known Scottie since he was seven years old. He wants to beat you at everything he does. And now I’ve been blessed to be back with Randy the last couple of years, so I’m around Scottie on a daily basis, practicing with him, playing with him. Scottie is the leader of our team at the end of the day, he’s the best player in the world,” he said.
“The guys look to him, his voice carries more weight. He knows that, at the end of the day, we just want Scottie to be Scottie. We don’t want Scottie to do anything more than be himself. And I think he’s coming into that role of, ‘hey, I’m a leader, my voice does carry weight’. He’s being more vocal. I love to see it, because when Scottie talks, it’s a lot like Tiger back in the day. When Tiger speaks, everyone listens. When Scottie speaks in that room, the guys listen, and it’s important for him to do that. I think he’s relishing that role. I think he’s excited about it, and I look forward to Scottie being Scottie.”
Jackson Koivun lauded by Gary Woodland ahead of his Presidents Cup debut
The most intriguing player heading into this year’s Presidents Cup is almost certainly Jackson Koivun, with Brandt Snedeker handing the youngster a pick for the event in Illinois.
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Koivun proved himself at the top level by holding off Scheffler to win the 3M Open on his third start as a professional earlier this season. It is difficult to imagine that he would have made the team had it not been for that performance, given how little time he had to stake his claim.
It would be easy for Koivun to find the experience intimidating, but Woodland suggested that he has impressed him with how he has conducted himself.
“He’s as cool as it gets. If you wouldn’t tell me he was 21 years old, I’d be shocked because he fits in. It’s like he’s hanging out with his college team. He fits in, he’s laughing, he’s joking. He’s going out, he’s talented. We don’t have to talk about that. It is crazy how talented he is, but he’s just a cool kid. And I say kid lightly because he’s a lot younger than the rest of us. He’s so much further ahead and comfortable with where he is at that age than I would have been at 21,” he said.
“It’s impressive to see and I’m just excited for him to get out there and be Jackson, to have fun with the guys and the world to see – they obviously saw how talented he was there at 3M, they’ve seen what he’s done in his amateur career, and I think that’s just the start of something special.”
Snedeker is under some pressure given Team USA’s record in the event, as well as the decision to not pick J.J. Spaun. Spaun bounced back by winning the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour this past week.
In truth, it is tough for an American captain to be considered a real success in the Presidents Cup. But getting the best out of Scheffler and Koivun will certainly help Snedeker’s case.
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