Bradenton PGA Tour Champions event sees quick score changes in first day of tournament
.jpg "Steve Stricker tees off at the 2023 World Champions Cup at the Concession Golf in Bradenton, Florida on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.")
For most of Thursday’s play at the World Champions Cup, Team Europe held anywhere from a four to five-point lead.
Then the United States rallied following the modified alternate shot format at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton.
Europe, though, remained in front by a half point over the United States after the first of the three-day PGA Tour Champions event airing on ESPN and ABC.
There are a total of 648 points at stake, which can cause a roller coaster ride for the three teams jockeying for the inaugural title.
Europe sits with 55.5 points followed by Team USA at 55 points and Team International at 51.5 points.
“Half a point’s a slim one, but things can rapidly change if someone makes a couple of birdies in a row,” Europe captain Darren Clarke said. “And some of those holes are — you know, pin positions are tricky, it’s tough to get into them. Hit a really good shot and get rewarded. You know, making a birdie does make a big difference. You can say that most weeks, but here in that sort of format and the opportunity, if you’ve got a putt and you know you’re gonna win the hole and get your two points against the other team, that’s pretty big. So that can change really quickly.”
Clarke partnered with Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie for the morning sixsome session and afternoon Scotch six-ball session.
In the morning, the two tallied four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole to snag 13 points for Europe.
“Monty and I (Thursday morning we) sort of ham-and-egged it absolutely perfectly,” Clarke said. “Monty hit some great shots, I hit some sort of sketchy ones, but then I hit a couple great ones as well.”
Clarke played with Montgomerie in the 1997 Ryder Cup, which was a victory for Europe in Spain. Clarke said Montgomerie is such a competitor.
Alex Cejka teamed with Bernhard Langer, who he called an idol on Thursday, to produce 18.5 points between the two sessions.
Meanwhile, the U.S. caught fire during the afternoon modified alternate shot format. Two key contributors were Billy Andrade and Steve Stricker, who displayed their chemistry with eight birdies over the two formats.
“Steve and Billy played awesome,” Team International captain Ernie Els said. “Seriously, they never made a mistake all day except for No. 8.”
Added Stricker about the par-5 eighth, a hole Els and K.J. Choi eagled twice: “I tried to bite off a little bit more than I should have there and ended up knocking it in the water from the bunker. That cost us a point or two probably, or a point probably for sure.”
Andrade, who is the team’s vice captain, found out last week he was officially slotting into the lineup with captain Jim Furyk’s back injury forcing him to sit out.
But knowing he might need to step in after talking with Furyk a few months ago, Andrade prepared for this week by playing the week after the Charles Schwab Cup.
“So that was a week, then I was home for a week and then I went to Whispering Pines in Houston and played a Pro-Pro with Steve Archer, my pro at Capital City Club in Atlanta,” Andrade said. “So I had a couple rounds there, which was good. ... So I didn’t really take that much time off, so I felt coming in here, getting here Monday and practicing three days that I should be ready by Thursday.”
Vijay Singh and Stephen Ames birdied hole Nos. 6-8 to snag valuable points in the final match of the afternoon wave and bring Team International within four points of the lead.
The action resumes Friday with the same formats, before two separate singles sessions on Sunday to determine the inaugural tournament champion.
