Team USA and Team Europe battle in expanded Presidents Cup format
Team USA beat Team Europe 45.16-30.83 in Tallinn, and the new three-stage format turned the Presidents Cup into a clearer test of depth, not just match play.
Team USA left Tallinn with the sharper verdict, finishing the 2026 Presidents Cup ahead of Team Europe, 45.16 to 30.83. The expanded event, the 15th Presidents Cup, did more than add a third round: it separated the teams by forcing them to win in three different games, from singles match play to doubles to a stroke-play finish.
That mattered because the structure rewarded different kinds of strength at different times. The opening singles matches produced a clean early read on form, with Isaac Robinson, Anthony Barela, Ella Hansen, Iida Lehtomäki, Eveliina Salonen, Kat Mertsch, Richard Wysocki and Eagle McMahon among the round-one winners. Europe answered in doubles, where Silva Saarinen and Niklas Anttila, along with Iida Lehtomäki and Lauri Lehtinen, picked up wins. But the final standings show that the Americans held the deeper total across all three phases, and the added stroke-play card made the outcome more decisive than a standard two-round team event would have.
That is the real takeaway from this new format: it rewarded roster construction as much as shot-making. Team USA came in with Catrina Allen captaining a group built around Gannon Buhr, Holyn Handley, Calvin Heimburg, Taylor Chocek, Isaac Robinson, Ella Hansen, Richard Wysocki, Missy Gannon, Anthony Barela, Emily Weatherman, Eagle McMahon and Kat Mertsch, with Sullivan Tipton and Madison Walker as reserves. The Americans also had to adjust after initial picks Paul Ulibarri and Paige Pierce were unable to attend. Europe countered with Kristin Lätt at the helm and a lineup featuring Niklas Anttila, Silva Saarinen, Mauri Villmann, Anniken Kristiansen Steen, Joona Heinänen, Iida Lehtomäki, Väinö Mäkelä, Eveliina Salonen, Lauri Lehtinen, Henna Blomroos, Jesse Nieminen and Anneli Tõugjas-Männiste, plus Daniel Davidsson and Heidi Laine in reserve.
The new scoring system made the strategy plain. Singles wins were worth three points, doubles wins were worth six, and the stroke-play card handed out four, two, one and zero points for first through fourth. That is a more layered test than a straight match-play exhibition, and it gave the Presidents Cup a clearer competitive spine. Singles created the tension, doubles flipped momentum, and the finale put a premium on depth and finishing ability.
Held in Tallinn on June 16, just two days before the PDGA European Open, the event fit neatly into the European Disc Golf Festival and gave Lätt a home-region stage. Compared with 2025, when Team USA’s win in Stockton marked its 13th victory in Presidents Cup history, this edition felt less like a one-note rivalry and more like a proper team championship. The expanded format did what it was supposed to do: it made the separation between the sides easier to see and harder to argue with.
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