Mike Weir to captain International Team at Skechers World Champions Cup

CLEARWATER, FL – After leading Team USA to a narrow victory in the inaugural Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s two years ago, 2003 U.S Open champion and 17-time PGA TOUR winner Jim Furyk will return as captain of the American squad for the 2025 tournament.

Darren Clarke, the 2011 Open Championship winner and a five-time European Ryder Cup team member, will return as the captain for Team Europe.

Mike Weir, an eight-time PGA TOUR winner, the 2003 Masters champion and a five-time Presidents Cup player, will make his debut as the captain for Team International.

The Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s will be played December 4-7 at Feather Sound Country Club in Clearwater, Florida. The PGA TOUR Champions event, inspired by the passion and tradition of the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, debuted in 2023 and features Team USA, Team International and Team Europe squaring off over three days of competition, renewing golf’s most storied rivalries while the teams battle for international pride and global bragging rights.

Each of the teams competing in the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s will consist of six players, including the captains. Automatic invitations for each team will be extended to the top two point-earners in the event’s career-based rankings, with two additional positions going to Chairman’s picks. The final spots for Team USA, Team International and Team Europe will be play-in positions based on the year-end Charles Schwab Cup standings.

Team USA won the inaugural tournament in nail-biting fashion, as its 221 points was just two better than Team International’s tally over the three-day event. Team Europe was third with 208.

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. During his career, 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.

He 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.

“We want to win this prestigious tournament again, and I’m eager to put together a team that I think can do just that,” Furyk said. “Leading the first team to ever etch their name on this trophy is an incredible feeling. Having three teams compete in an event that is sort of the Ryder Cup meets the Presidents Cup was totally unique.”

Hailing from Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, Clarke will captain Team Europe for the second time. He 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.

“Having been a part of the inaugural Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s in 2023, I experienced just how much our guys wanted to win, so I’m eager to get back out there to spur Team Europe to victory this time around,” Clarke said. “I look forward to battling with Jim and Mike, two all-time greats with whom I’ve had the pleasure of competing against for many years.”

Weir’s playoff victory at the 2003 Masters made him the only Canadian player to win a men’s major championship. 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.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be the captain for Team International in the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s,” Weir said. “I was watching closely in 2023 and rooting for our team as it came down to the final group on Sunday, and there’s nothing I’d like more than to get team International’s name on the trophy this year. Having played in five Presidents Cups and then being in the role of captain last year, I’m looking forward to not only being able to captain the International Team but hopefully to also contribute to our success on the course as a player. The fact that this is a three-team event makes it really unique, and it should be a lot of fun.”

Seven-time PGA TOUR winner and popular golf commentator Peter Jacobsen will return as Chairman of the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s. In addition to his PGA TOUR victories, Jacobsen is also a two-time PGA TOUR Champions winner and the 2004 U.S. Senior Open champion. A popular golf media personality for the past two decades, Jacobsen has established himself as one of the great ambassadors of golf.

The 21 players that participated in the inaugural Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s as players, captains or assistant captains have combined for 49 majors across the PGA TOUR (15) and PGA TOUR Champions (34). Team USA included Furyk, Steve Stricker, David Toms, Jerry Kelly, Justin Leonard, and Brett Quigley. Team Europe was made up of Clarke, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Robert Karlsson, and Alex Čejka. Team International featured Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen, Steven Alker, Stephen Ames, and K.J. Choi.

The Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s is a three-team, three-day competition 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.

Feather Sound, a par-72, 7,332-yard championship course, is one of the most challenging layouts in the Tampa Bay area and is centrally located between Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Tampa, adjacent to Carillon Park. It has been ranked as one of the top five private clubs in Tampa Bay.

ABC and ESPN will serve as the exclusive television homes of the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s. Coverage will air on ESPN on Thursday, December 4 and Friday, December 5, as well as on ABC on Sunday, December 7.

For more information visit worldchampionscup.com.