U.S. takes 3-2 lead in Presidents Cup opener at Medinah

The United States claimed a 3-2 lead over the International Team after Thursday's opening fourball session at Medinah Country Club. Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns secured the decisive point with a 1-up victory over Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im in the anchor match, marking their first win together in five attempts.

Rookie Jackson Koivun, 21, earned a point in his Presidents Cup debut alongside Justin Thomas, defeating Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria 4 and 3. Koivun birdied the third and sixth holes as the pair never trailed, extending Thomas's unbeaten fourballs record to 7-0-0.

“A session win is a session win. We're going to take it any way we can get it.”

Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa added a third U.S. point with a 3-and-2 win over Adam Scott and Ryan Fox. The International Team responded with victories from Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune over Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele, and Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim over Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay, both 3 and 2.

U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker called the session win crucial but cautioned that four sessions remain. Friday features five foursomes matches at Medinah's redesigned Course No. 3, which International captain Geoff Ogilvy co-designed.