Team USA found a way to win the Presidents Cup. But before the Americans completed their dramatic comeback at Medinah, one part of their performance had already raised serious questions. The U.S. went just 2-7 in foursomes, losing all five matches in Friday’s opening session. Even Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas could not fix the problem. Both of them went 0-1 in foursomes, even though they had winning records overall at the Presidents Cup. Justin Leonard believes finding the right foursomes pairings is not easy. The PGA Tour veteran and future U.S. vice captain recently spoke about the challenge of making foursomes teams for the Ryder Cup. His message was simple: data can help, but it cannot make every decision for a captain.

“I’ve referred a lot this year to the Oakland A’s, and Moneyball could only take them so far,” Leonard said in an interview with SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio. “And I think that’s the same way you have to look at stats and data, in that it will only take you so far to a point.”

For Leonard, that is where a captain’s instincts have to take over.

“At some point, there needs to be instincts involved,” he said. “And I feel like that’s the difference between great coaches or a great captain and ones that maybe aren’t so successful.”

Scheffler’s foursomes record at Medinah is particularly notable because he remains one of the most important players on the U.S. team. He partnered Sam Burns against Corey Conners and Nick Taylor on Friday. The Americans lost 1-up as the International team completed its 5-0 sweep.

Thomas had a similar result. He played with Cameron Young against Adam Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout and lost 3&2. But neither player had a poor Presidents Cup overall. Scheffler finished 3-1, while Thomas went 2-1-1. Both players also won their singles matches on Sunday as the Americans came back from a 10.5-7.5 deficit to win 17-13. That difference is important. The numbers do not show that Scheffler or Thomas played all week badly. Instead, they show how difficult foursomes can be. In this format, two players share one ball and take turns hitting shots. A player can be playing well on their own and still struggle to find the right rhythm with a certain partner.

Brandt Snedeker’s own comments before and during the Presidents Cup make Leonard’s point even more relevant. The U.S. captain did not reject analytics. Instead, he explained that statistics have to be put into the context of an 18-hole match.

“Stats are great in 10,000-round models. We’re playing an 18-hole match,” Snedeker said.

He also explained that numbers should help captains make informed decisions, but they cannot replace what they see from their players. That approach was visible in his decision-making throughout the week. Snedeker spoke about chemistry between players and trusting his instincts when putting combinations together. The results were mixed in foursomes. The Americans eventually recovered in other formats and produced one of the biggest Sunday comebacks in Presidents Cup history. But their 2-7 foursomes record remained a clear weakness.

This is where Team USA’s approach can be compared with Team Europe. Europe has used more analytics in its Ryder Cup planning, especially through Edoardo Molinari.

During Luke Donald’s 2023 Ryder Cup captaincy, Molinari worked closely with data to study possible pairings, player tendencies, and how players might fit a course. The PGA Tour reported that Europe relied a lot on data when choosing its foursomes and four-ball pairings.

Molinari’s work went beyond basic statistics. He looked at how players performed from different distances, on different shots, and in different course conditions. Europe could also use data to see which players might work well together.

But Europe did not simply choose data over instinct. The same PGA Tour report said Molinari knew that analytics had limits. In the end, both numbers and instinct were important. Donald also looked at player personalities and other factors when making his decisions.

That is why Leonard’s comments matter. He is not saying Team USA should stop using data. His point is that numbers can show useful things, but they cannot fully show how two players will work together or how they will handle pressure in a match.

The 2026 Presidents Cup showed this clearly. The U.S. had enough talent to overcome its problems in foursomes and win the trophy. But its 2-7 record also showed that great players do not always make a good team in alternate-shot golf.

For the Americans, the lesson before the 2027 Ryder Cup may not be about choosing data or instinct. It may be about using both at the right time. Leonard’s “Moneyball” comparison explains this well. Numbers can help a captain, but they cannot make every decision for him.