Twenty-six wounded, injured, and sick veterans from the United States and Great Britain will tee it up at Shady Oaks Country Club this November, as Fort Worth's storied private club prepares to host the 2026 Simpson Cup, a Ryder Cup-style match play competition entering its 14th year. The event, scheduled for November 1-4, will bring together 13 players from each nation on the same course where Ben Hogan once kept his locker.
The tournament announcement, detailed by the Fort Worth Report, confirms Jacob Nelson as captain of Team USA and Neil Flynn as captain of Great Britain. Great Britain currently holds the Simpson Cup trophy after winning the 2025 edition at Royal St George's, and the two nations enter this year's rematch with Great Britain ahead in the overall series, 7-6, and unbeaten across its last two trips to America.
Two Captains, Two Very Different Paths to the First Tee
Nelson, who resides in Plano, has represented the United States in seven previous Simpson Cups and called captaining Team USA an incredible privilege, according to the Fort Worth Report. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and works at Callaway's distribution center near Fort Worth, a detail that ties the tournament directly to the local golf industry, according to the Simpson Cup.
Flynn, meanwhile, spent 15 years in the Blues and Royals cavalry regiment before a severe 1987 cross-country riding accident ended his military career, per the same account from the Simpson Cup. Flynn, who has seven Simpson Cup appearances of his own, said Great Britain will compete for another victory, the Fort Worth Report reports. Great Britain's roster this year includes five Simpson Cup rookies, while Team USA brings two newcomers alongside veteran players like Marty Caraway, a two-time former team captain, and Mike Browne, who will make his 10th Simpson Cup appearance and has competed on the G4D Tour series.
An Amputee's Record and a Course Built by a Texas Legend
Also on Team USA's roster is Chad Pfeifer, who carries a 14-4-0 career Simpson Cup record across nine appearances and previously competed on the Korn Ferry Tour as the first amputee to do so, according to the Fort Worth Report. The 13-player U.S. squad and its British counterparts will compete under the tournament's 19-point match play format, in which a team must reach 10 points to claim the trophy outright, split between six points in better-ball four-ball matches and 13 points in individual singles, as explained by Golf Course Trades.
Shady Oaks itself carries deep Fort Worth roots. The club was founded in 1955 by Marvin Leonard on 1,220 acres of farmland and opened for play in 1958, later becoming the longtime home course of Ben Hogan, per the Fort Worth Report. The club marked its 65th anniversary in 2023. Designed originally by Robert Trent Jones Sr. following a major earth-moving effort, the course underwent a significant renovation led by Australian design firm Ogilvy Cocking and Mead that reopened in October 2020 with 777 bentgrass greens, according to Sounded Good Golf. Beyond its championship layout, the private club also includes a par-3 course known as the Little 9. Shady Oaks has hosted major amateur events before, including the 2008 USGA U.S. Senior Amateur Championship and the 2014 Texas Golf Association Senior Amateur, per Golf Course Finder.
A Charity Born From a Visit to a Rehabilitation Center
The Simpson Cup exists to support the On Course Foundation, the nonprofit that helps wounded, injured, and sick veterans rebuild their lives through golf, education, mentoring, and employment opportunities, the Fort Worth Report notes. The tournament is named after founder John Simpson MBE, a former IMG Senior Vice President who launched the charity in 2010 after visiting the Headley Court defense rehabilitation center in England the year before, according to Clubessential. Simpson had previously managed elite professional golfers including Sir Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Greg Norman, and Vijay Singh. He has one fully functioning leg after contracting polio as a child, and drew on that experience playing golf to inspire recovering service members.
Golf legend Arnold Palmer served as a founding patron when the charity officially launched on July 2, 2010, at the Royal Household Golf Club at Windsor Castle, per Stewart Golf. Since its founding, the On Course Foundation has assisted more than 2,500 wounded, injured, and sick veterans through golf instruction, work placements, and industry career opportunities, and the organization reports directing more than 90 cents of every dollar raised toward veteran rehabilitation and employment programs, offering clinics and job support across 15 U.S. regional markets, according to the Jacksonville Women's Golf Association.
A New Texas Chapter Launches Alongside the Tournament
The 2026 Simpson Cup will coincide with the launch of the On Course Foundation's dedicated Texas chapter, which will provide year-round support in the state, according to the Fort Worth Report. That launch carries particular weight locally, since Texas is home to more than 400,000 wounded, injured, and sick veterans. The foundation is registered as both a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States and a charity in the United Kingdom, and has benefited thousands of veterans since its founding.
Rich Reggero of Tega Cay, South Carolina, claimed the final spot on Team USA in July after placing sixth at the national qualifier held at Shady Oaks, capping a selection process that included regional qualifiers in Florida, Texas, South Carolina, and Virginia, according to the Tega Cay Sun. The On Course Foundation organized four 32-player regional qualifiers before the July national qualifier in Fort Worth.
What to Expect Over the Four-Day Event
The competition opens November 1 with an opening ceremony and gala dinner, followed by a player-sponsor tournament on November 2. Competitive play begins November 3 with six four-ball matches, and the event concludes November 4 with 13 singles matches and the presentation of the Simpson Cup trophy, per the Fort Worth Report. Shady Oaks joins a rotation of major championship venues that have hosted the Simpson Cup over the years, including TPC Sawgrass, Congressional Country Club, Oak Hill Country Club, St Andrews Links, Baltusrol Golf Club, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, and Royal Lytham and St Annes, according to the Simpson Cup's own event history. Organizers describe the tournament as showcasing golf as a sport where players of all skills and abilities can compete together on a level playing field.
