Jim Furyk, Ernie Els and Darren Clarke will captain Team USA, Team International and Team Europe, respectively
BRADENTON, Fla.– Following a successful debut in 2023, Intersport announced Thursday that the World Champions Cup has agreed to a multi-year extension to return to The Concession Golf Club in 2024, 2025 and 2028.
The second annual World Champions Cup will be played Dec. 5-8, 2024, and will air once again on ABC and ESPN. All three captains will return, as Jim Furyk will seek to help Team USA defend its title and Ernie Els (Team International) and Darren Clarke (Team Europe) will look to dethrone the champions.
“We are thrilled to announce a long-term deal to return to The Concession Golf Club,” said Jason Langwell, executive director of the World Champions Cup and executive vice president of Intersport Golf. “Concession proved to be a terrific host venue, and the course provided a stern test of golf for the best players in the world, setting up a dramatic finish on Sunday that came down to the final hole. We are looking forward to returning to Bradenton the next two years, as well as in 2028.”
Miller Brady, president of PGA TOUR Champions added: “The inaugural World Champions Cup was a terrific success, and we are eager to see this event continue to expand in 2024 and beyond. The unique, three-team format provided drama and entertainment to fans, and our golfers fully embraced the experience, which resulted in a thrilling competition that came down to the final hole. Returning to The Concession for three of the next five years provides a tremendous stage for the continued growth of this event.”
Host courses for the 2026 and 2027 tournaments will be announced at a later date, as the World Champions Cup considers domestic and international locations to expand its brand globally.
“All of us at The Concession, from our membership to our staff, welcome the World Champions Cup back for 2024, 2025 and 2028,” said Bruce Cassidy, president of The Concession Golf Club. “It was an honor to host such a prestigious event for its first playing last year, and we look forward to our long-term relationship moving forward.”
Peter Jacobsen will return as tournament chairman.
“Being part of the first World Champions Cup was a career highlight for me because it was a concept that my friend Charlie Besser and I had envisioned for so many years, and it was truly special to see it come to fruition in such a successful manner,” Jacobsen said. “I’m excited to return as our Chairman and to see this event continue to grow on the world golf stage.”
Team USA won the inaugural World Champions Cup in nail-biting fashion, as its 221 points tally was just two points better than Team International over the three-day tournament. Team Europe was third with 208.
The World Champions Cup is an annual three-team, three-day competition contested across nine-hole matches featuring team formats and singles play, with points being earned for each hole won in each of the event’s 24 matches. Each of the three teams competing in the World Champions Cup consists of six players, including a playing captain. Inspired by the passion and tradition of the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, the World Champions Cup is officially sanctioned by PGA TOUR Champions.
The inaugural event was tremendously well received, with players and captains voicing their support.
“I’ve got to honestly say that this was probably the most fun of all the teams I’ve been on,” said Steve Stricker, who had previously played in or served as a captain in six Presidents Cups and four Ryder Cups.
Following the dramatic finish in 2023, Els said, “What a week, what a format. This thing works.”
Clarke added: “It was brilliant. The whole event was fabulous.”
The Concession Golf Club was named the Best New Private Course in America by Golf Digest in 2006. The seed of what would become The Concession Golf Club was planted in 1969, with Jack Nicklaus’ famous gesture of conceding the final putt in the Ryder Cup to Tony Jacklin, clinching the first tie in the competition’s history. Decades later, the two golf legends paired up to design and create The Concession Golf Club — a championship, privately-owned golf facility with no houses lining the course. The course has hosted the PGA TOUR’s 2021 World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession, the 2015 Men’s and Women’s NCAA Division I championships and the biennial Concession Cup