Signature Scroll: Jackson Koivun, Justin Thomas prove perfect tandem at Medinah

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Perfect pair

MEDINAH, Ill. – Jackson Koivun's much-anticipated Presidents Cup debut began with a vicious club twirl.

Of course. The kid bending the golf world to his will had just tackled one of the most nerve-racking tee shots in golf with ease, striping it down Medinah Country Club’s first fairway.

“There’s been too much practice,” one U.S. support member told me as we walked off the tee box. “He’s ready to play. He’s ready to show he belongs.”

After one swing, it was hard to argue with their logic.

What happened next was a reminder that surviving the first tee shot is only the first hurdle. He still had 70 more swings to make.

Koivun dumped his approach in the greenside bunker, hit a poor shot from there and walked off the hole without hitting a putt. His partner, Justin Thomas, assured the Americans a par and a halved opening hole.

Koivun’s next swing was his worst – a ball that started left and never recovered, sailing out of bounds. He hit another into the fairway bunker, and his shot from there was headed out of bounds before careening off the wood fence back into play. Koivun didn’t putt for the second straight hole. Suddenly that U.S. support staffer was hard to find.

The vagaries of match play aren’t for the faint of heart, and the ballyhooed rookie experienced every emotion in a 15-minute span.

Welcome to the Presidents Cup, Jackson.

Yet, somehow, the Americans walked to the third hole tied with the Internationals. How?

U.S. Captain Brandt Snedeker's strategy worked. As the week went on, it became increasingly clear that Koivun and Thomas would be tied at the hip. The logic was simple. Pair the young phenom with the formerly young phenom turned longest-tenured member of the U.S. Team room. Thomas could prop Koivun up as he experienced the inevitable emotional swings of match play, biding time until Koivun got comfortable.

That theory looks pretty good through one session.

Thomas was the U.S. Team’s best statistical player, per Data Golf. Koivun was second-worst, but he holed several notable putts that kept momentum on their side, leading to the largest margin of victory, a 4-and-3 win. It was the Americans’ first point of the day.

Koivun will need to improve, but Thomas will insulate him, who, at least for one session, looked in peak form.

That sparked another thought: Perhaps this pairing isn’t just beneficial for Koivun. Maybe Thomas is invigorated by the challenge of taking a young player under his wing. It’s a role Thomas has never played, partly because he’s never been considered the elder statesman until now. It was certainly the case for Justin Rose in recent Ryder Cups, most notably shepherding Robert MacIntyre around Marco Simone in 2023.

As their match wrapped at Medinah’s 15th, Smylie Kaufman pulled Thomas aside for a TV interview. Thomas made sure to track down Koivun to join it.

“He's really impressive to watch, and I'm really happy he's on my team,” Thomas said. “Yeah, it was cool to watch him do his thing out there and show up in some pretty big moments.”

More big moments are ahead.

Here’s a quick rundown of the other Thursday results. The U.S. leads 3-2:

• Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns def. Min Woo Lee/Sungjae Im, 1-up
• Hideki Matsuyama/Ryo Hisatsune def. Cameron Young/Xander Schauffele, 3 and 1
• Wyndham Clark/Collin Morikawa def. Ryan Fox/Adam Scott, 3 and 2
• Tom Kim/Si Woo Kim def. Chris Gotterup/Patrick Cantlay, 3 and 2

Playing through

• 📺 Missed some of the action from Thursday's Four-ball session? Watch full highlights from Day 1 at Medinah …
• 🇰🇷 The Kims proved they are the Internationals’ alpha duo. My colleague Lisa Antonucci dove into why that matters …
• 💰 Wondering who to bet on for Day 2? Will Gray gives his picks …

Day 2 previews

It’s Foursomes Friday! Historically, the Americans have dominated this session. They hold a 34-point advantage over the Internationals over the event’s history. However, the Internationals swept the Friday Foursomes session in 2024.

Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns vs. Corey Conners/Nick Taylor (2:05 p.m. ET)

The Americans are running it back. Scheffler and Burns are out first again, looking to build on their win. Burns called it a sigh of relief to finally get his first win alongside Scheffler. The duo has never won together in Foursomes, though (0-3-0). Still, Conners didn’t play well, and this will be Taylor’s first Presidents Cup match.

• Advantage: U.S.

Sungjae Im/Hideki Matsuyama vs. Russell Henley/Jacob Bridgeman (2:19 p.m. ET)

Henley and Bridgeman get their first action after sitting Thursday’s session, and they’re up against one of the toughest International duos. Im and Matsuyama delivered the most lopsided result in 2024, beating Schauffele and Cantlay 7 and 6.

• Advantage: Internationals

Collin Morikawa/Wyndham Clark vs. Ryan Fox/Min Woo Lee (2:33 p.m. ET)

The Americans are running it back with this pairing, too. Clark carried Morikawa for much of Thursday, but that can’t happen in alt-shot. Foursomes has not been Morikawa’s strong suit either, 4-5-0 lifetime in the format.

That said, neither Fox nor Lee played particularly well on Thursday.

• Advantage: U.S.

Adam Scott/Christian Bezuidenhout vs. Justin Thomas/Cameron Young

Thomas and Young played Four-ball together at the Ryder Cup, but this is a new format for them. Yet it seems Thomas can play with anyone. He is 11-0-2 between Four-ball and Foursomes at the Presidents Cup.

• Advantage: U.S.

Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele vs. Tom Kim/Si Woo Kim

This is the session's blockbuster match and a rematch of their epic duel on Saturday night in Montreal, otherwise known as the “Night, night” match.

The Kims established themselves as the Internationals’ alpha duo with a comfortable win on Thursday over Cantlay and Chris Gotterup. But playing Cantlay and Schauffele together is a different animal. They’re 4-1-0 in Foursomes at the Presidents Cup.

• Advantage: Even

Paul’s prediction: U.S. wins the session 3.5-1.5 and leads 6.5-3.5 overall

Parting shots

• 🔇 Clark challenged fans to be louder the rest of the week. He said it was too quiet on Thursday and hard to sustain momentum without the noise. He played well despite it. Snedeker agreed.
• 👬 For as much as we’ve seen them together, this was the first time Scheffler and Burns won a match as partners. They started fast, birdieing four of the first five, then held on at the end, helped by an International three-putt at the 17th. They’re not complaining. A point is a point.
• 😕 It was certainly better than their 5-0 deficit from a year ago, but this session was there for the taking for the Internationals. Anyone surprised they hung around in Four-ball weren’t paying attention. The two sides have played Four-ball nearly dead even over the event’s history (U.S. is +6).
• 🚱 Geoff Ogilvy was pleasantly surprised by how firm Medinah played. He oversaw the renovation and was discouraged by the rain and softness of the course when the team arrived Sunday. He found it quite firm on Thursday, and that should only ramp up the rest of the way. Great for golf course nerds like me.
• ❌ The pin position at the second hole was a breath of fresh air, only 17 feet from the out-of-bounds fence. Internal out of bounds is one of the few things that truly scares pro players. Hoping it continues to be a factor the rest of the week.
• 😀 It’s fun to see Ryo Hisatsune get a moment in the spotlight. He’s infectiously positive, and it shows in his interviews. He was giddy about getting to play with his idol, Matsuyama, and they won. A dream come true for the 24-year-old.
• 📊 According to Data Golf, Thomas and Tom Kim were the top performers for their respective teams. Chris Gotterup and Nico Echavarria were the worst performers. It’s no surprise both are sitting on Friday.