Darren Clarke, Retief Goosen, Justin Leonard named captains for Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s

CLEARWATER, Florida — The Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s announced Wednesday that Darren Clarke, Retief Goosen and Justin Leonard will captain the European, International and U.S. Teams, respectively. The third annual playing of this tournament is set to be played Dec. 3-6 at Feather Sound Country Club in Clearwater for the second consecutive year.

Clarke, the 2011 Open Championship winner, five-time European Ryder Cup team member and 2016 European Ryder Cup captain, will return as the captain for the European Team for the third consecutive year. He led the European Team to a dominant victory at Feather Sound in 2025 and will seek to retain the title in 2026. 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. Coming off of a win at the Americn Family Insurance Championship, Clarke is currently ranked 10th in the Charles Schwab Cup Standings and his 2026 season highlights include a T3 at the Insperity Invitational and a T7 finish at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.

Goosen, the 2001 and 2004 U.S. Open champion, takes on the captain’s title with hopes of adding the International Team’s name to the trophy for the first time in tournament history. The South African will captain the International Team after competing in the inaugural Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s in 2023. During his Hall of Fame career, Goosen competed in six Presidents Cups, and was in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) for over 250 weeks between 2001-2007. Goosen has had a strong start to the 2026 season with a T3 finish at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai and a win at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf. He is currently ranked eighth in the Charles Schwab Cup Standings.

Leonard, a five-time Presidents Cup and three-time Ryder Cup team member, the current vice captain for the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup Team was an incredible addition to the 2023 and 2025 U.S. Team, and will captain the U.S. Team for the first time in 2026. Leonard was the star of the 1999 Ryder Cup, making a 45-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole Sunday afternoon to clinch the U.S. Team’s comeback victory. A 12-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Leonard won the 1997 Open Championship at Royal Troon, where he came from five shots off the lead entering the final round, winning by three strokes, thanks to a Sunday round of 65. Leonard joined PGA TOUR Champions in 2023 and secured his first victory last season at the Chubb Classic, one of five top-10 finishes in 2025. He is currently ranked 33rd on the Charles Schwab Cup Standings.

This global golf tournament will continue to renew golf’s most storied rivalries while the teams battle for international pride and bragging rights. In 2023, the U.S. Team, led by current U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Jim Furyk, secured the inaugural win with 221 points and a margin of victory that was only two better than the International Team. The European Team finished third with 208 points. Clarke and the European Team returned with a vengeance in 2025 and ran away with a final tally of 230. The International Team and U.S. Team finished with a final score of 213.5 and 204.5, respectively.

“These players have competed for decades and will bring grit and determination to the forefront as we watch them build their teams and battle for the cup later this year,” said Brittany Jeanis, Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s tournament director and vice president, Golf at Intersport. “This global team competition has become a fan-favorite and we are thrilled to see this tournament continue to thrive as it heads into its third year in the Tampa Bay area.”

Feather Sound Country Club is a par-72, 7,332-yard championship course 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, serving as a challenging test for the best golfers in the world in 2025, and will continue to do so in 2026.

“It was incredible to see the buzz within our membership and the greater community as we hosted the greatest golfers in the world during the 2025 Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children's,” said Dale Schmidt, owner of Feather Sound Country Club. “We are proud to continue to bring golf fans to our course to watch what will surely be an incredible test of skill and teamwork later this year.”