Team Europe started the day with a bang and sailed to a wire-to-wire victory at the Skechers World Champions Cup on Sunday at Feather Sound Country Club in Clearwater, Fla.
Europe led the three-team competition by just 1.5 points after the first two days of play, but Colin Montgomerie of Scotland, Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark opened the Sunday morning singles sessions with European victories totaling 34.5 points.
Germany’s Alex Cejka added 12.5 points to the balance before the end of the morning session, and when the teams returned in the afternoon, Montgomerie, Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen and German legend Bernhard Langer notched European victories to ensure a runaway.
Europe wrapped up with 230 points for the event, and the International team vaulted past the U.S. for second with 213.5 points. The Americans were at 204.5, effectively left in the dust.
“I mean, from what happened this morning, that was a record points total for this event by a mile this morning,” Montgomerie said. “Then to come out and think, ‘OK, no complacency,’ to come out to Bernhard 6 under through five, Soren Kjeldsen 5 under through five. It was nonstop. It was incredible golf that we were playing as a team.”
The unique three-way team competition features PGA Tour Champions players and benefits the Shriners Children’s hospital network. It debuted in 2023 and was canceled last year due to hurricane damage in Florida.
Three points are awarded on every hole over the course of nine-hole matches. Thursday and Friday featured a “six-ball” (best ball) session and a Scotch sixsome (modified alternate shot). After a day off Saturday, all players participated in singles on Sunday.
The team or player with the lowest score on a given hole scores two points for his team, the second-best score garners one point and the highest score receives zero points. Points are split one apiece whenever each team/player finishes with the same score. Points can also be split if two teams/players tie for the best score or the worst score on a given hole.
Jim Furyk captained the American team, Clarke captained the European roster and Canada’s Mike Weir captained the International roster.
On Sunday morning, Clarke rolled in four birdies in a row at Nos. 2-5, while Bjorn scored at least half a point on every hole. Clarke’s win was noteworthy as he faced tough opponents in Jerry Kelly (nine points) and Weir (6.5).
Clarke was proud of his team after the U.S. beat the Europeans in 2023. Montgomerie made a joking reference to Europe’s win at the 2025 Ryder Cup, saying this was an even bigger win.
“Massively proud of them,” Clarke said. “We had a good first day … a few years ago in the inaugural event, and then we sort of fizzled away on the second two days. This week we all got together with all of us, the players, the wives, the caddies and everything, and our way in Europe is, when we get into a team, there’s no egos, there’s no nothing.
“I know we’ve got two Hall of Famers in our group and on our team, but nobody’s bigger than anybody else, and we all pull for each other and play for each other.”
Clarke did single out Montgomerie, who scored 10.5 points in both sessions against Stewart Cink, the Charles Schwab Cup champion this year, and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera, who won two senior majors in the spring.
“Monty has had his health issues and whatever, hasn’t played a lot this year, and he got 21 points today, 21 points in this format,” Clarke said.
The best player on the International team was New Zealand’s Steven Alker, and he did his part in the morning session by scoring a whopping 13.5 points against Steve Stricker and Langer, the single largest point total won by any player or tandem all week.
Alker won three holes outright — with a birdie at No. 4, and eagle at the par-5 fifth and another birdie at the seventh — and had at least one point at every other hole.
A 21.5-point day by Jason Caron couldn’t save the Americans. Caron was the leading point scorer for the event (60.5 points).
“I don’t know what the right word is,” Caron said about his feelings. “I just said there’s no I in team. So we didn’t win.”
–Field Level Media
