THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Captain Brandt Snedeker and the United States team, the winners of the 2026 Presidents Cup here at Medinah Country Club. Brandt, I know it's been a roller coaster week and the team has certainly had their backs against the wall, down 3 points heading into Sunday. If you could just speak to the resilience of this team to come back the way they did and deliver a victory here on home soil.
BRANDT SNEDEKER: I'm super proud of them. These guys never gave up. They believed in each other. They did a helluva job. They were really special.
I knew these guys were special. I knew they were close. I saw it last year at the Ryder Cup, how hard those guys fought for Keegan on Sunday. I was just trying to get them to fight for me the same way. Super proud of them, man. Super proud of all these guys.
Q. Brandt, you shared some vulnerable thoughts about mistakes you felt maybe you were making this week. It felt like a very stressful week for you.
BRANDT SNEDEKER: It was stressful.
Q. Were you surprised at how stressful it was or surprised maybe what it did to you, just the captaincy?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: Yeah, I was surprised. I don't think anybody knows what's the weight a captain carries on their shoulders all week. I don't think they realize that you're not just making a decision that affects you, you're making a decision that ripple affects the whole team -- people's families, people's lives. Every decision you make carries a serious consequence.
You think you know, but you don't until you've done it. I was just super proud of these guys. I keep saying they fought for each other today. It was impressive to watch. The fact that we went out, I think it's a record -- is it a record in singles? That doesn't happen unless you have a special group of guys, and we do.
I'm really proud of how they came together. I'm really proud of what they stood for. Super happy for all the rookies, to be a part of something like this. Your first time being on a team is special. So I want them to really enjoy it.
Q. To anyone in particular, somebody jump in, what did you guys feel last night after hearing that Brandt was saying -- didn't feel like he lived up to his end of the bargain for you guys?
XANDER SCHAUFFELE: 100 percent agree with him.
BRANDT SNEDEKER: I don't even have to know -- I'm sure it was Pat. I'm going to take a guess. X or Pat, one of the two.
XANDER SCHAUFFELE: No, we love Sneds. He wears his heart on his sleeve. We knew where he was mentally all week, and we played hard for him today. That's all we could do, regardless of the outcome. I think every one of us took it personally, and we played our asses off.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: I was just going to say word for word what Xander says.
Q. Brandt, you were hard on yourself, but one thing you definitely got right was you listened to your gut about picking Jackson Koivun over there. What did he bring to this team this week?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: I thought he brought everything and more. He's obviously a great player, but he's a great kid. Super locked into what he's doing. He's an unbelievable competitor. I had a feeling about him. I don't know what it was, just being around him, talking to people, knowing what he accomplished, I felt like he was ready for the stage.
I put him in a big spot today, a really big spot. That was a massive match. If we were going to have any chance today, he had to win that match. The guys were cheering in the room last night when we made that decision to put him in that spot. The whole team went crazy because they knew they wanted the kid to go up against Si Woo, and he delivered today in a big way. I'm super proud of him.
Q. Just building on that, JT, you were with Jackson kind of throughout the process. How did you feel like he grew into the week and just how impressed were you with the performance?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I was extremely impressed. Obviously I know these guys on the team better than Jackson, but I feel like I probably knew him the best just in terms of being around him and just the last couple years and whatnot.
Yeah, I hate to give him as much credit as I am, but he is really good at golf. He's really just -- he gets it; he's very mature. It just was really cool to kind of just watch him do his thing. I'll never in my life forget the smile he had on his face when he put the tee in the ground on Thursday morning and he was about to hit. I think he kind of blacked out and went to pick up the tee, didn't pick up the tee. It was just laying right there when I went to go put my tee in the ground. It's kind of cool to get to experience those moments with someone. Yeah, it was cool to watch.
Q. Wyndham, you had mentioned on Thursday that you had thought the fans had come out a little flat out of the gate. How did you see that perspective of all throughout the week, and how crucial were they to rallying in this final round?
WYNDHAM CLARK: I did it more as -- yeah, it was a little flat Thursday. Yeah, they did great. Chicago showed up. Yeah, I think they were a huge part of us coming back and changed the momentum for us.
BRANDT SNEDEKER: It was great for Wyndham to feel love in America. It was really good.
Q. Collin, there were a lot of micromoments today with the rally, but it felt like your match in particular felt important, knowing that you were trailing on 15. Just wanted to get your perspective on the day to see the matches and the board turn red in front of you and how those final holes played out in your match.
COLLIN MORIKAWA: They're all important. The guys started off in the top of the groupings today, that's momentum. I think back to last year what happened at Bethpage, I was kind of at the bottom of the tee times, and when you see a lot of red, that gets you going. I like to look at it. I know my focus is on my match, but it took every single ounce of energy for us to go out there and do what we had to do today.
Yeah, there was a lot of back and forth. 15 was the pivotal moment. That's match play right there in a nutshell. It was nice to finally make a putt today.
BRANDT SNEDEKER: What a stud. That match was unbelievable. Collin Morikawa, love that guy, man.
Q. Jackson, you've accomplished a lot at 21 years old, but I don't think like even some of the people up there got to have a lot of the best golfers run onto a green to congratulate them when they were 21. What does that feel like given what happened to you today?
JACKSON KOIVUN: It felt great just having the support of these guys. We had such a close team. Our vice captains and captain are so great. It's just one of the best experiences of my life. To close it out the way I did, it was just -- it was awesome.
Q. Scottie, wondering your perspective on the situation on 14. Nico was in here earlier and called you a class act for giving him that putt. What was going through your mind when you heard the person yelling in the swing, and what brought you to give him that putt?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: There's just no place for that. I was very frustrated. It was honestly a big distraction, I think for me, just because we compete and work so hard to put ourselves in these moments. When you have some fan who decides to insert himself into the tournament, you can say, I think, whatever you want to players, but I think there's an amount of respect there. You should get about 30 seconds when you're over the ball and hitting your shot or getting ready for your shot where fans are pretty silent.
It just didn't really sit well with me. He would never hit a shot as poorly as he hit, I think, off the 14th if there wasn't a fan yelling in his swing. It was just very frustrating. I don't really want to talk about it all that much. It was frustrating.
Q. Jackson, it was just over a year ago when you were winning points and winning cups on the amateur level at the Walker Cup. It made me want to ask you, in terms of nerves, excitement, playability, et cetera, what's the difference?
JACKSON KOIVUN: Anytime you're playing for the USA, you get excited and nervous, but I don't think I've ever shook on a golf course like I did on Thursday on the first tee. At the same time, I couldn't stop smiling. I was really excited to be there, but I was nervous for sure.
I just love match play. Any match play event I can get into, I just really thoroughly enjoy. Obviously the Presidents Cup is on another stage from the Walker Cup, but that's no knock on the Walker Cup. The Walker Cup is a very special event as well.
Q. What club did you hit on 18?
JACKSON KOIVUN: I hit an 8-iron.
BRANDT SNEDEKER: Right at it, by the way. Right at it. The shot of the day.
Q. This question is for Jim Furyk. Jim, what's the lesson learned that you'll take from this week into next year?
JIM FURYK: What's the lesson from this week?
Q. The lesson learned.
JIM FURYK: I've been around these teams for a long time. I started playing in my first one back in '97. So I've seen a lot of lineups; I've seen a lot of team rooms. I think you're always learning. I'm always trying to find ways, new ideas. We had some new people in the room this year. Always sharing ideas, always trying to learn, always trying to be a calming influence.
I said it all along, I want -- first of all, I want these guys to really enjoy what they just did today. Walking into a Sunday 3 points down, having a lot of pressure, playing like they had nothing to lose, going out there and showing off for these fans, getting them into it, I really want them to enjoy what they did today because it's pretty darn special.
We've made some good runs on Sunday, but it's hard to really get them over the hump and actually finish it off, and these guys finished it off like I've never seen before. I'm proud of them.
If you've been listening all year and you've heard my media all year, it's really been about, why did you come back? Why did you want to be the Ryder Cup captain? Because I love these guys. I really do. I think they're special. We've got a lot of great veterans in the room. We've got a lot of folks that we really lean on, and we've got a lot of young guys.
Our three rookies, they balled out this week. I'm really proud of them. I'm really happy for them. I'm learning each and every week. I love these events more than -- they're the favorite parts of my career.
More than anything, I just want these 12 guys down here to really enjoy themselves and enjoy what they accomplished together because it was special today.
Q. Justin, Brandt kind of hammered in from the start that this team hasn't accomplished anything coming into the week. Can anything from this tournament be applied to the next tournament that gets played next year, or is it an entirely different competition?
JUSTIN THOMAS: That's a good question. I would -- probably better for Jim. Yeah, I don't know. It's hard to say right after the fact. Yeah, I'm not sure. I feel like that's something you probably have to think about and take some time. I know that we have a lot of faith in ourselves and each other, and we believe we can do a lot of things, a lot of good things, especially out there in these team events. We get excited to play in them.
Yeah, I'm not sure other than that.
Q. Cam, second straight year you've been the guy to go out first. What do you enjoy about that role?
CAMERON YOUNG: I think it's a great spot for me to play in. One of the reasons I love match play is that everything is so definite. Kind of everything is right in front of you all day. You have putts to win the hole, to tie the hole. It's really clear and right in front of you.
I think that first spot out the last couple years, we've been down and obviously we've needed points early to keep us in it. So to me, I feel like it's kind of an extension of the same thought. It's right in front of me. I know exactly what I need to do. That very clear goal, I think, has helped me play well in those two situations.
Q. This one is for Keegan.
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Oh, boy, didn't expect that. What's up?
Q. Wondering if you could relate to the stress that Brandt felt and just what this week did for you knowing how hard it had been after the Ryder Cup, how this feels now?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Today was a much-needed day for me personally. Just like what Jim said, I really care for everybody in this room. Last year was a tough year for what happened at the Ryder Cup, but to be able to come here and experience this day -- I told Webb and Brandt on the mic, and Jim, we experienced a really horrible moment on that 14th green in 2012, and today we got to experience one of the happiest moments of my golf career.
I'm so proud of all the guys. I'm so happy that Brandt gets to be a winning Presidents Cup captain. I really enjoyed watching Jackson Koivun play golf. I really had a fun time today being out there with him and watching these guys battle.
The thing about this team is they are such incredible people, and it doesn't matter how many points they're down, they're going to fight till the very end. We knew this was going to get close, and I'm just extremely proud of them.
THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you for the time. Congratulations again.
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