Organizers have announced the initial rosters for the 2026 Skechers World Champions Cup, with Darren Clarke, Retief Goosen and Justin Leonard set to captain the European, International and U.S. teams when the event returns to Feather Sound Country Club in Clearwater this December. The three-team showdown, stacked with major champions and World Golf Hall of Fame members, is scheduled for December 3-6 at the Pinellas County club.
According to WFTV, defending champion Darren Clarke returns to lead Team Europe with Jesper Parnevik as vice captain, and the squad already includes Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Henrik Stenson. Retief Goosen captains the International team alongside vice captain Rod Pampling, with Vijay Singh, Scott Hend, Ángel Cabrera and Steven Alker rounding out the early roster. Justin Leonard leads Team USA with Billy Andrade as his vice captain, bringing in Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly for the opening lineup, per the same report.
More Players Coming After the Schwab Cup Wraps
Each team will add two more players once the PGA Tour Champions regular season concludes, with those additional selections based on final Charles Schwab Cup standings. Organizers expect to announce those picks on October 19, 2026, the station notes, filling out the rosters before play begins in December.
The tournament's nine-hole team and singles match format rewards points for every hole won, a scoring system that produced a tight finish in 2025. Team Europe claimed that title at Feather Sound with 230 points, edging out the other two squads, according to the station's report. The 2026 edition will again be broadcast across ABC, ESPN2 and Golf Channel.
A Tampa Bay Fixture Built From Scratch
The World Champions Cup was created by sports marketing agency Intersport, which debuted the three-team concept in December 2023 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton as a senior-golf answer to the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup format. Team USA, captained at the time by Jim Furyk, won that inaugural event with 221 points before Team International finished two points behind, per Koobit. The event's planned second edition, originally set for December 5-8, 2024, was postponed to 2025 after Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through Florida's Gulf Coast within weeks of each other that autumn, as reported by Golf News Net.
Play across the tournament's three days unfolds over 24 nine-hole matches using six-ball, Scotch six-somes and singles formats, with two points awarded for a hole win and one point for second place among the three competing teams in each pairing, the outlet explains. It is officially sanctioned by the PGA Tour Champions as an unofficial money event carrying a $1.575 million purse, meaning the earnings will not count toward the tour's official season money list, according to Golf Digest's coverage of the circuit's sanctioning rules.
Feather Sound's Growing Resume in International Team Golf
Feather Sound Country Club, a par-72 championship layout measuring 7,332 yards near Carillon Park and owned by local executive Dale Schmidt, has built a track record hosting marquee international team events. The club hosted the Ladies European Tour's $1 million Aramco Team Series in March 2024, where German golfer Alexandra Försterling won the individual title, according to the LPGA.
Skechers signed on as title sponsor in August 2025, with Shriners Children's serving as the official charity partner, a tie that includes the Shriners Children's Celebrity Classic held the Monday before tournament play, per PR Newswire. The World Champions Cup supports Shriners Children's, which provides specialized pediatric care regardless of a family's insurance status or ability to pay, WFTV reports.
What Local Spectators Need to Know
Organizers are requiring 100% digital mobile ticketing for 2026, meaning paper tickets and screenshots will not be accepted at the gate, according to the World Champions Cup's official site. Off-site spectator parking will be located at The FEIL Organization facility at 570 Carillon Parkway in St. Petersburg. Families attending can bring up to four youths ages 15 and under for complimentary grounds admission when accompanied by an adult holding a paid general admission ticket, though that perk applies strictly to general grounds access and does not extend to private hospitality venues.
