Clarke to captain Team Europe in new PGA Tour Champions team event
Darren Clarke
Darren Clarke will captain Team Europe in a new seniors team event - the inaugural World Champions Cup - against the USA and the Rest of the World in Florida in December.
Officially sanctioned by PGA Tour Champions, the 2011 Open champion and reigning Senior Open champion will join fellow team captains Ernie Els and Jim Furyk at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton from December 7-10.
Inspired by the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, the World Champions Cup will feature Team International, Team USA and Team Europe squaring off in an annual three-day matchplay competition that will be contested across nine-hole matches featuring team formats and singles play with points being earned for each hole won in each of the event's 24 matches.
The team with the highest point total across all matches will be crowned the champion.
Each of the teams will consist of six players, including the playing captains, and all will be active PGA TOUR Champions members.
Automatic invitations for each team will be extended to the top two point-earners in the WCC's career-based rankings, with two additional positions going to Chairman's picks.
The final spots for Team USA, Team Europe and Team International will be play-in positions based on the year-end Charles Schwab Cup standings.
The fourth player in history to win both The Open Championship and The Senior Open Championship after defeating Pádraig Harrington by one shot at Gleneagles last year, Clarke played on five Ryder Cup teams and served as European captain in 2016.
"I am overjoyed to represent Team Europe as captain for the inaugural playing of the World Champions Cup," Clarke said.
"I've been blessed to be a part of many team competitions all over the world and it is truly an honour to be selected as a captain along with Jim and Ernie, two of golf's all-time great players.
"This is truly a first-of-its-kind global team competition and I cannot wait to compete this December."
News of the new seniors event coincided with an announcement by the PGA Tour that it has entered a four-year partnership with Bushmills Irish Whiskey, which has been named the "Official Whiskey of PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions."
