5H AGO
The PGA TOUR-sanctioned event comes to Feather Sound Country Club from Dec. 4-7.
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Written by Staff
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Team USA Captain Jim Furyk, Team International Captain Mike Weir and Team Europe Captain Darren Clarke announced their rosters today for the second playing of the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s, set to be contested Dec. 4-7 at Feather Sound Country Club.
This Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup-inspired global team competition will feature Team USA, Team International and Team Europe going head-to-head as they battle for international pride and global bragging rights. Each of the three teams competing in the event is made up of six players, including a playing captain and a vice captain serving in a non-playing role.
Team USA will include: Stewart Cink, Jerry Kelly, Justin Leonard and Steve Stricker, along with Furyk.Team International will include: Steven Alker, Ángel Cabrera, K.J. Choi and Y.E. Yang, along with Weir.Team Europe will include: Thomas Bjørn, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie, along with Clarke.
The sixth and final spots for Team USA, Team International and Team Europe are play-in positions and will be determined based on the Charles Schwab Cup standings at the end of the regular season, which concludes with this week’s SAS Championship. Vice captains for each team will also be named at a later date.
For Team USA, the play-in spot is expected to come down to either Doug Barron or Jason Caron. For Team Europe, it likely will be between Alex Cejka, Søren Kjeldsen and Freddie Jacobson. For Team International, the play-in spot is likely to come down to Mark Hensby or Ricardo Gonzalez. As these seven players battle in the final week of the PGA TOUR Champions season to secure their roster spots, all but Cejka will seek to play their way into the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s for the first time.
The 15 players that have been announced as players or captains for the 2025 Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s have combined for 219 tournament wins and 43 major championships across the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions, with a combined 89 Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup appearances.
“I think we have the type of team that can repeat as champions of this event,” Furyk said. “Stewart has been playing lights out this season, and we all saw how Jerry rose to the occasion and was such a key player for our team in winning two years ago. Strick is a guy who has plenty of experience playing under pressure in Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups, and his leadership as a winning captain twice is invaluable. And I’ll take Justin Leonard and his knack for performing in the biggest situations every day of the week. The more I talk about these guys, the more fired up I get for us to go out there and compete.”
Jim Furyk (captain) is a 17-time winner on the PGA TOUR, highlighted by winning the 2003 U.S. Open, and is a three-time winner on PGA TOUR Champions, including The 2021 U.S. Senior Open. Furyk reached a career-high world ranking of second in 2006 and spent 440 weeks ranked in the top 10 from 1999-2016. He is also the owner of the lowest round in PGA TOUR history, having shot 58 in the fourth round of the Travelers Championship in 2016. Furyk will captain Team USA after leading the home squad to victory in the inaugural Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s in 2023. Furyk has represented Team USA as a player in seven Presidents Cups and nine Ryder Cups. He served as the U.S. Ryder Cup captain in 2018 and the captain of the victorious American team in the 2024 Presidents Cup.
Jim Furyk’s interview before Day 2 of the World Champions Cup
Stewart Cink is second in the 2025 Charles Schwab Cup standings, thanks to a season that has seen him win twice and secure 13 top-10 finishes in 17 events. He won in playoffs at the Insperity Invitational and The Ally Challenge, and now owns three PGA TOUR Champions victories since joining the Tour in 2023. The 2009 Open Championship winner owns eight career PGA TOUR victories and has appeared on five U.S. Ryder Cup teams along with four U.S. Presidents Cup squads.
Jerry Kelly returns to play in the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s after a standout performance as one of the most consistent players for the victorious Team USA in 2023. Kelly led all 18 players in the competition with 61 total points and scored double-digit points in five of the six sessions. A three-time PGA TOUR winner who played on one Presidents Cup team, Kelly’s career has blossomed since joining the PGA TOUR Champions, where he has accumulated 13 victories, including two majors. He is 15th in the 2025 Charles Schwab Cup standings thanks to five top-10 finishes in 18 tournaments, including a one-stroke victory in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. Kelly has won at least one tournament in seven of his eight PGA TOUR Champions seasons.
Justin Leonard was the star of the 1999 Ryder Cup in Brookline, Massachusetts, sinking a 45-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole Sunday afternoon to clinch the American team’s comeback victory. It was one of three Ryder Cup appearances for Leonard, who also played in five Presidents Cups for the U.S. team. A 12-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Leonard’s biggest career accomplishment has been winning the 1997 Open Championship at Royal Troon, where he came from five shots off the lead entering the final round and won by three strokes thanks to a Sunday 65. Leonard secured his first PGA TOUR Champions victory this season at the Chubb Classic – one of his five top-10 finishes this season. He is 14th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings and will represent Team USA in the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s for a second time.
Steve Stricker returns to play in the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s for a second time. A 12-time PGA TOUR winner who played on three Ryder Cup teams and five Presidents Cup squads, he also captained victorious U.S. teams at the 2017 U.S. Presidents Cup and the 2021 U.S. Ryder Cup. Stricker has 18 PGA TOUR Champions victories on his resume, including seven major championships.
Steve Stricker’s tight approach leads to birdie at World Champions Cup
“Steven’s season speaks for itself, and the way he’s playing, there’s nobody else that I’d want as one of the leaders of this squad in my first time as captain,” Weir said. “K.J. has played some terrific golf since joining the PGA TOUR Champions, and how could you not be thrilled about having Ángel and his three victories this season on our side? He’s got two major championships under his belt, so I know how hard he’ll compete to help this team win. Y.E. has played really well this year and brings a major champion pedigree to our team. After my experience captaining the International Presidents Cup team last year, I’m excited to be in that role again this December, and will also look forward to being able to earn some points for my team as a player.”
Mike Weir (captain) became the only Canadian player to win a men’s major championship after his playoff victory at the 2003 Masters. He counts the 2001 TOUR Championship among his eight career PGA TOUR victories, and he also has one PGA TOUR Champions victory on his resume – the 2021 Insperity Invitational. Weir represented the International team as a player in five Presidents Cups and served as captain in 2024.
Steven Alker leads the PGA TOUR Champions this season with 15 top-10 finishes in 19 events, and he is third in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. The New Zealander won the Cologuard Classic in a playoff and finished second in the Trophy Hassan II and the Kaulig Companies Championship. Alker has won nine times since joining the PGA TOUR Champions, including a dominant 2022 season that included four victories and his lone major – the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. He returns to play in the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s for a second time.
Steven Alker drains birdie putt at World Champions Cup
Ángel Cabrera is the owner of three PGA TOUR victories, including two in major championships – the 2007 U.S. Open and the 2009 Masters. The Argentina native also has three PGA TOUR Champions wins, two of them majors this season – the Regions Tradition and the Senior PGA Championship. He has been a member of the International team in four Presidents Cups and has won five times on the DP World Tour. Cabrera’s three PGA TOUR Champions wins this season and nine other top-25 results leave him seventh in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.
K.J. Choi is an eight-time PGA TOUR winner, including the 2011 PLAYERS Championship and the 2002 Tampa Bay Classic. A native of South Korea, he also holds nine international victories and has played in three Presidents Cups. He has won twice since joining the PGA TOUR Champions, including The 2024 Senior Open Championship. He has registered three top-10 finishes this season. He returns to play in the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s for a second time.
K.J. Choi pours in birdie putt at World Champions Cup
Y.E. Yang is a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR and is best known for his victory at the 2009 PGA Championship, when in his first major championship appearance, he came from two strokes behind on the final day to beat Tiger Woods by three strokes. He joined the PGA TOUR Champions in 2022 and won the 2024 Ascension Charity Classic in a playoff. This season, he has four top-10s in 24 starts.
“With the current leader in this season’s Charles Schwab Cup standings in Miguel and the greatest player in the history of the PGA TOUR Champions in Bernhard on our roster, I think we have a very strong team heading into this year’s tournament,” Clarke said. “I know that Monty’s competitive juices were flowing in 2023 and he wants to come back and win. Thomas has two wins already this year and has been part of five winning European Ryder Cup teams, so we know he’ll be an integral part of our success this December.”
Darren Clarke (captain) will lead Team Europe for the second time. The native of Northern Ireland is most famous for his 2011 victory at The Open at Royal St. George’s, where he finished three strokes clear of the field. In 2022 Clarke became the fourth player in history to win both The Open Championship and The Senior Open Championship, defeating Pádraig Harrington by one shot at Gleneagles in Scotland. Clarke has played on five Ryder Cup teams and served as captain in 2016 for Team Europe. Clarke’s resume includes victories at two PGA TOUR World Golf Championships events and five PGA TOUR Champions events, as well as 15 international wins.
Thomas Bjørn is sixth in the 2025 Charles Schwab Cup standings on the strength of two victories and eight top-10 finishes. Bjørn won the American Family Insurance Championship in June and the Stifel Charity Classic in September, marking his first two PGA TOUR Champions victories. A native of Denmark, he also has 19 international victories on his resume. He played on three winning Ryder Cup teams and served as a captain for the European Ryder Cup team in 2018 and as a vice captain in 2023 – both victories.
Miguel Angel Jiménez leads the 2025 Charles Schwab Cup standings by a wide margin, thanks to a season that has seen him win four times and secure 13 top-10 finishes in 20 tournaments. This season, Jiménez has won the Trophy Hassan II, the Hoag Classic, the Principal Charity Classic and the Kaulig Companies Championship – the last two in playoffs. The 61-year-old Spaniard has racked up 17 career PGA TOUR Champions victories, including three major championships. He won at least one tournament every year from 2014-22 before putting together his most successful season in 2025. Jiménez owns 21 DP World Tour victories and has represented Europe on four Ryder Cup teams. He returns to play in the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s for a second time.
Bernhard Langer is the most successful player in PGA TOUR Champions history, with 47 victories and 12 major championships. Seven of those victories came during the 2017 season, and he also registered five-win seasons in 2014 and 2010. He has had at least one victory each season since joining the PGA TOUR Champions in 2007. The 68-year-old German won three times on the PGA TOUR, including the Masters in 1983 and 1985, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Second all-time with 42 DP World Tour wins, Langer played on 10 Ryder Cup teams from 1981-2002 and captained the victorious European Team in 2004 at Oakland Hills. He returns to play in the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s for a second time.
Bernhard Langer rolls in long birdie to close Friday at World Champions Cup
Colin Montgomerie is widely regarded as one of the greatest Ryder Cup players of all time, having represented Europe eight times from 1991-2006 and having served as a captain for the winning European Team in 2010. Fourth all-time with 31 DP World Tour victories, the native of Scotland and 2013 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee finished second five times in major championships. He’s won seven PGA TOUR Champions events, including three majors – the Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Senior Open in 2014 and the Senior PGA Championship in 2015. He returns to play in the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s for a second time.
Colin Montgomerie converts birdie at World Champions Cup
