New PGA Tour Champions event will bring golf legends to Bradenton. Here’s what to know
After a 23-year absence, the PGA Tour Champions is returning to the Bradenton area.
The inaugural World Champions Cup takes place Dec. 7-10 at Bradenton’s Concession Golf Club. An announcement for the officially sanctioned tournament, which pits the United States against Europe and an International side, was made at the private club on Monday.
The three teams square off in nine-hole matches featuring team formats and singles play. Points are earned for each hole that is won across 24 matches. The team with the highest point total becomes the inaugural World Champions Cup winner.
Each team consists of six players, including playing captains, that are active PGA Tour Champions members. The top two point-earners from a career-based rankings system that takes into account participation and performance in past Ryder Cups, Presidents Cups and major championships. There are also two Chairman’s picks per team with final spots awarded to positions based on the year-end Charles Schwab Cup standings.
Peter Jacobsen, who won seven times on the PGA Tour, is the tournament chairman.
“The most important thing with a chairman’s pick is to pick somebody that is reflective of how well they are playing for that year,” Jacobsen said. “Because my goal is to make all three teams as strong and competitive as possible.”
The team captains for the inaugural event are World Golf Hall of Famer and four-time major winner Ernie Els (International), 2011 British Open winner Darren Clarke (Europe) and 2003 U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk (United States).
Clarke was in Bradenton last Tuesday to play The Concession, and he addressed that during Monday’s press conference announcing the new event.
“I was fishing, chasing tarpon for a week and got the opportunity to go up there,” Clarke said in a Zoom call. “What a golf course, just off the charts. So I’m one up on my two captains, because I’ve been there and I don’t think they have, so I’ve got a little bit of a head start.”
PGA Tour Champions coming to Bradenton
“The World Champions Cup is a tremendous addition to the game of golf and the PGA TOUR Champions schedule,” said Miller Brady, President of PGA TOUR Champions in a news release. “This competition will give fans a new and unique opportunity to see the game’s greatest stars compete against one another on a global stage. Ernie, Jim and Darren are worldwide ambassadors for golf, and it will be thrilling to watch them and their teammates compete for the chance to win the inaugural World Champions Cup.”
The PGA Tour Champions last visited the area in 2000 with the LiquidGolf.com Invitational at Sarasota’s TPC Prestancia. Tom Wargo won that tournament.
But in the interim gap, the area has hosted several professional tournaments.
And The Concession is no stranger to holding marquee events.
In 2021, The Concession stepped in to host the World Golf Championship event originally slated for Mexico. The course filled the gap on a short-term need due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. That year, which boasted the top men’s golfers in the world, saw Collin Morikawa win.
“(Concession president) Bruce (Cassidy) keeps this golf course in championship condition year round,” Jacobsen said. “When a PGA Tour event can come here on short notice, like the World Golf Championship did, and the players rave about it, this isn’t one of those courses that is in just medium condition and then all of a sudden jumps up to tournament condition. This is in tip-top tournament shape year round, and that’s what makes this so special.”
The Concession has also hosted collegiate and amateur team events. The course, which got its name from a pivotal moment in Ryder Cup history between Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin, was designed in 2006. Nicklaus and Jacklin co-designed the course related to the moment in 1969 when Nicklaus conceded a short putt to Jacklin to secure a tie in the Ryder Cup.
The United States retained the Ryder Cup with the tie, but the sportsmanship Nicklaus showed Jacklin stuck for years before the two designed the East Manatee track.
Additionally, Sara Bay Country Club in southern Manatee County hosted the Epson Tour — previously known as the LPGA Symetra Tour — between 2012 and 2017. Sarasota’s Bent Tree was a regular LPGA Tour stop during the 1980s, while Palm-Aire Country Club hosted past female golfing legends such as Nancy Lopez in a team event in 2015.
The Korn Ferry Tour, which gives direct promotion to the PGA Tour for its top players, is marking its fourth year at Lakewood National Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch on Thursday.
The World Champions Cup airs on ABC and ESPN in December. The tournament’s competition is for three days (Dec. 7, 8 and 10) with a unique pro-am scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 9.
