The whirlwind week at Royal Birkdale for Ryan Fox inevitably punched his ticket to this week's President's Cup at Medinah, as the Champion Golfer of the Year is a solid asterisk for a team that needs all the help it can get. There's still a major question of how the New Zealander will handle himself in this atmosphere and, like most other pairings for this team, who will be an optimal partner to earn points. Players who inconsistently thrive in all four major facets aren't always easy teammates, especially when he ranked no higher than 77th in any strokes gained metric. Outside of his length off the tee, the rest of his game is hard to trust. No one would be surprised to see Fox struggle this week.

On paper, Si Woo Kim is the strongest player in the International Team room. He's the highest-ranked and has been one of the top performers over the last two editions, but he's also arguably the easiest plug-and-play on the entire roster. Outside of what happens on the greens, the 31-year-old was one of the top competitors in the 2026 season. Over his 24 events played, the South Korean led the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approach (0.738) and ranked inside the top five in strokes gained tee to green (1.357), birdie average, and par-4 scoring average. It's been a tall task for this squad to defeat Team USA, but especially on foreign soil. However, if it is even a possibility, it will take a strong showing from Kim.

Due to the struggles that surrounded Justin Thomas' golf game a couple of seasons ago, it kept him off of a 2024 President's Cup team that was void of any real veteran leadership. That won't be the case this year, as he's set to be the tried and true points getter he's been in the seven team competitions where he's accrued a 19-9-4 record. The 33-year-old is the most decorated player on the American side, especially when solely looking at this particular event, as he's undefeated in both foursomes and fourball. As the best player this season in strokes gained around the green (0.627 average strokes gained), he makes for a great alternate shot partner. The other two formats don't make as much sense, but as the unquestioned heart and soul of the American team, it wouldn't be surprising to see him be apart of every session.

After a year that saw him have a chance to win three out of the four major championships, Sam Burns will be a cornerstone piece for the American squad this week at Medinah. He's been on every cup team since 2022, though he's fared much better against the International team than the Europeans, sporting a 3-3-3 record versus 1-3-2. His usual pairing with Scottie Scheffler is the default choice, but his overall record with the world No. 1 is a discouraging 0-3-1. As one of the best putters on tour and the most proficient approach players this season, it's beyond time for Team USA to find the right partner to allow Burns to flourish.