Pairings matter more than picks in Presidents Cup week. Once the 12 names are locked in, it’s how a captain slots them together across foursomes and fourballs that decides who actually walks away with the cup. That’s exactly the debate Taylor Zarzour raised with Brandt Snedeker on the 5 Clubs Golf Podcast with Gary Williams. He zeroed in on one pairing decision that could define Snedeker’s captaincy at Medinah.

“If I’m Captain Snedeker, and my only objective is to win and get points, then I’m going to do the surest thing. And to me, the surest thing you can do on the team is put the most accurate ball striker, Russell Henley, with the best player, Scottie Scheffler. And if you put those two together, I just feel highly confident they’re going to earn you points more times than not,” he said on the show.

For context, the captain doesn’t submit pairings before the week starts. Each morning and afternoon session, both captains fill out lineup cards for foursomes (alternate shot) and four-ball (best shot), and those cards are exchanged blind. There’s no way to dodge a matchup once it’s turned in. That means every pairing decision is a fresh bet, session by session, and a captain can mix-match all week depending on form, chemistry, and who the other side sends out.

As for Zarzour’s logic for the pairing, it’s simple. Pair the most mistake-free ball striker on the roster with the best player in the world and let steadiness cover for any off day. It’s not hypothetical either. In 2024, at Royal Montreal, Scheffler and Henley formed a pair and truly complemented each other. Henley’s tee-to-green consistency took pressure off Scheffler to carry every hole himself. Henley’s overall record at the Presidents Cup also backs that up. He is 3-1-0 in four matches and has a 75% winning percentage. That’s the best anyone on the U.S. team has ever done.

The only wrinkle in their pairing is that Scheffler and Henley struggled together at the 2025 Ryder Cup. It was also part of a broader stretch where Scheffler hasn’t won a Ryder Cup match with a partner since teaming with Bryson DeChambeau in 2021. As for Scheffler’s own Presidents Cup ledger, it’s a little off. He’s 3-5-1 in nine matches, actually the least on the American side, which is what makes Snedeker’s pairing puzzle so real.

Now, if Snedeker looks anywhere else, the most battle-tested option on paper is Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. The two have partnered 13 times across the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, a 7-6 record overall and 6-3 in foursomes specifically. Moreover, it’s built on a friendship that dates back to the 2019 Presidents Cup in Melbourne. They’re the closest thing the U.S. side has to a modern, established duo.

Furthermore, there’s also Sam Burns and Collin Morikawa, who’ve gone 2-0 together in their two pairings to date. They remain unbeaten in both foursomes and four-ball. Burns notably has already partnered with Scheffler four times, going 0-3 in foursomes with just a half point to show for it. That stat likely works against reuniting them.

Beyond those combinations, Snedeker has options when looking for a partner for Scheffler. Justin Thomas, whose record is 10-3-2, and Collin Morikawa, whose record is 6-2-0, both carry winning records into the week. Moreover, Snedeker has been candid that finding the right partner for Scheffler is specifically “a challenge,” pointing to an inherent fear among partners of letting him down rather than a lack of talent.

For now, the numbers support Zarzour’s read. Henley remains the safest pairing for Scheffler on paper. But what the final pairing will be remains to be seen.