Entering this week’s Presidents Cup at Medinah, the American side shouldn’t have any concerns as it is the considerable favorite against the International Team and is seeking what would be its 11th straight victory in the biennial event. Outside noise never goes mute, however, and Scottie Scheffler got honest about one narrative that has turned into a consistent sticking point for himself and the U.S. team as a whole.
The frustrating narrative doesn’t have anything to do with the Presidents Cup as an event, but instead with the U.S. team room, camaraderie, and the idea that the Americans simply haven’t cared enough about the other, more marquee and historic team event, the Ryder Cup.
“I think that’s something that’s probably been frustrating for us as American players, is some of the narrative that have gone on over the course of my team match play career,” Scheffler told reporters at Medinah on Tuesday. “Stuff like Patrick Cantlay not wearing his hat or stupid rumors that simply aren’t true, like meeting in a different team room and the Americans aren’t a close team. It’s something for us that can be very frustrating at times because it’s very much untrue.”
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Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. Team looks on while playing a practice round prior to the Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club Course No. 3 on Sept. 21, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois. (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
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“I feel like our team has really banded together over the last five or six years since I’ve been a part of this,” the World No. 1 continued later on. “I’m excited to get this week started. The guys have been great this week, and I think our team as a whole is just really excited.”
Scheffler’s call back to Cantlay not wearing a hat dates back to the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy, when Jamie Weir of Sky Sports created the drama by reporting that the U.S. team room was “fractured” while claiming Cantlay was playing without a hat as some form of protest about players not being paid in the Ryder Cup.
Weir also claimed that Cantlay did not attend the gala dinner earlier in the week, despite photo evidence of him being there. He also failed to mention that Cantlay did not wear a hat during the 2021 Ryder Cup.
Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. Team hits a tee shot prior to the Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club Course No. 3 on Sept. 22, 2026, in Medinah, Illinois. (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
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While Cantlay, teammates, and staffers have denied the reporting involving his hat, it became the overarching story during the 2023 Ryder Cup and was still a jumping-off point during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black to push the idea that the American team room wasn’t necessarily joined together.
Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. Team looks on prior to the Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club Course No. 3 on Sept. 22, 2026, in Medinah, Illinois. (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
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The fact of the matter is that the only way this narrative that Scheffler and others have grown tired of disappears is by the U.S. team winning the Ryder Cup. A runaway victory this weekend in the Presidents Cup would help quiet the noise, but the real drama lies within the Ryder Cup.
The U.S. has lost six of the last eight Ryder Cups, including each of the last two, and will have its hands full in 2027 when it is contested in Ireland. The Americans have not hoisted the Ryder Cup on foreign soil since 1993.