Inside the newly revealed Skechers World Champions Cup teams, from major champs to wild cards to rookie(?) Zach Johnson
Mike Ehrmann
While September was packed with global team events—Walker Cup, Solheim Cup and Presidents Cup—there remains one more to keep on your radar in 2026: the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children's. For the third time, the United States, Europe and an International contingent from the rest of the world will take their talents to Florida in a unique competition featuring some of golf’s best (and most celebrated) golfers on the PGA Tour Champions.
Previously revealed were the names of the three captains, last year’s winning skipper, Darren Clarke, returning for Team Europe, to be joined by Justin Leonard and Retief Goosen for the U.S. and the Internationals, respectively. On Monday, during a press conference in New York City, the bulk of the rosters for the three teams were announced.
The defending European champs will feature Clarke, vice-captain Jesper Parnevik, Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Henrik Stenson. The Internationals will have Goosen, vice-captain Rod Pampling, Vijay Singh, Scott Hend, Ángel Cabrera and Steven Alker. And finally, the U.S. team will be comprised of Leonard, vice-captain Billy Andrade, Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly. Two more spots on each side remain to be announced for the nine-hole team and singles matches.
“Coming back to the Skechers World Champions Cup brings back a lot of memories from 2023, especially how close we came to winning it,” Goosen said. “Finishing second by just two points stays with you.”
At the press conference, the two-time U.S. Open champion even winced when seeing a replay of the disappointing bronze and silver finishes for the Internationals, much to Clarke’s delight. The U.S. won the inaugural tournament in 2023, and the Europeans did more than enough to emerge victorious last year.
The Skechers World Champions Cup follows a first-of-its-kind three-team format. The event is contested across nine-hole matches featuring team formats and singles play, with points being earned for each hole won in the event’s 24 matches.
Miguel Angel Jimenez of Team Europe lights a cigar after winning the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children's in 2025.
Mike Ehrmann
After a down year in 2025, Leonard will now be running the show for the U.S. and didn’t sound too worried about Ryder Cup captains Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker playing under him. They’ve already briefly discussed pairings and feel comfortable at the relatively “straightforward” Feather Sound Country Club in Clearwater, Fla. The 1997 Open champ also is planning to chat through some ideas with previous U.S. captain Jim Furyk. The two will be working together at the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, so they have quite a bit of strategy, potential pairings and team dinners to discuss.
Speaking of tactics, this will be two-time major champ Zach Johnson’s inaugural showing in the event, and Leonard still isn’t totally sure what the initiation strategy will be, although he didn’t hide his interest in karaoke. When pressed on his own music preferences, Leonard preferred to keep that to himself … and his kids who’ve been traumatized by his every-so-often car-singing.
The competition takes place Dec. 3-6, and will be broadcast on ESPN2, ABC and Golf Channel.
“There’s a tremendous amount of pride that comes with representing Europe, and this group understands what it means to compete for one another,” Clarke said. “We know the U.S. and International Teams will be coming in strong, and we wouldn’t want it any other way as we look to top our winning score of 230 points.”
