Scottie Scheffler used his pre-tournament press conference at Medinah to reject what he called «very much untrue» narratives about the closeness of the American team room, as the United States prepares to open its Presidents Cup defense as a heavy favorite against the International Team.
The world No. 1 said the recurring suggestion that American players are not a tight-knit group has become a source of frustration across his team match play career. He specifically cited the rumor that teammates met in a different room and the long-running storyline about Patrick Cantlay not wearing a hat as examples of claims that simply do not reflect reality.
«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 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.»
Scheffler said the group has grown tighter over the past five or six years, the span of his involvement with American team competitions, and that he was eager to begin the week. He described the atmosphere among the players as positive and said the team as a whole is excited for the challenge at Medinah.
The hat storyline traces back to the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy, when a Sky Sports reporter characterized the U.S. team room as «fractured» and suggested Cantlay was playing without a hat as a form of protest over players not being paid in the Ryder Cup. The same report claimed Cantlay skipped the gala dinner earlier in the week, even though photographs showed him in attendance. It also omitted the fact that Cantlay had competed without a hat at the 2021 Ryder Cup.
Cantlay, his teammates and staff members have all denied the reporting, but the story nonetheless dominated coverage of the 2023 event. It resurfaced as a reference point during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, where it was used to revive the argument that the American team room was not fully united.
For Scheffler and his teammates, the only lasting way to silence that narrative is to win the Ryder Cup. A convincing victory this weekend at the Presidents Cup would help quiet the noise, but the more consequential drama remains the Ryder Cup itself. The United States has lost six of the last eight editions of that competition, including each of the last two, and faces a difficult assignment in 2027 when the matches are contested in Ireland. The Americans have not lifted the Ryder Cup on foreign soil since 1993.
The Presidents Cup, by contrast, has been a far more comfortable stage for the U.S. side, which is seeking its 11th consecutive victory in the biennial event. That streak, and the considerable talent on the roster, explains why the Americans enter the week as the clear favorite against an International Team looking to break through at Medinah.
Scheffler's comments reflect a broader tension that has followed American teams through recent match play cycles: the gap between how players describe their own chemistry and how outside observers portray it. Whether the perception shifts may depend less on press conferences than on results, beginning with this week's Presidents Cup and extending to the Ryder Cup in 2027.