The second rendition of the PGA Tour Champions Ryder Cup-style event is getting closer and now all three teams have their complete rosters.
The 2025 Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s, set for Dec. 4-7 at Feather Sound Country Club in Clearwater, Florida, pits three six-man squads, each featuring a playing captain, against one another.
The three teams are the U.S., Europe and the Internationals, which also brings Presidents Cup flair to the event.
Each of the three teams has a vice captain serving in a non-playing role. The sixth player on each team was made official on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Team USA for the Skechers World Champions Cup
Captain Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Jerry Kelly, Justin Leonard, Steve Stricker and Jason Caron. The vice captains are Steve Flesch and Billy Andrade.
“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.”
Team International for the Skechers World Champions Cup
Captain Mike Weir (Canada) will bring with him Steven Alker (New Zealand), Angel Cabrera (Argentina), K.J. Choi (South Korea) and Y.E. Yang (South Korea) with Mark Hensby (Australia) being named as the sixth and final member. The vice captains are Ricardo Gonzalez and Charlie Wi.
“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.”
Team Europe for the Skechers World Champions Cup
Captain Darren Clarke (Northern Ireland) will have a team of Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain), Bernhard Langer (Germany), Colin Montgomerie (Scotland) and Alex Cejka (Germany). The vice captains are Soren Kjeldsen and Jesper Parnevik.
“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.”
Golfweek’s Adam Schupak contributed to this article.
