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Washington Post
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn team to win the American Family Insurance Championship
MADISON, Wis. — European Ryder Cup captains and teammates Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn won the American Family Insurance Championship on Sunday, shooting a 7-under 64 in better-ball play for a four-stroke victory over four teams. The tournament hosted by Steve Stricker — who tied for second with brother-in-law Mario Tiziani — switched to the team format this year, giving the PGA Tour Champions its only team event.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn team to win the American Family Insurance Championship
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — European Ryder Cup captains and teammates Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn won the American Family Insurance Championship on Sunday, shooting a 7-under 64 in better-ball play for a four-stroke victory over four teams. The tournament hosted by Steve Stricker — who tied for second with brother-in-law Mario Tiziani — switched to the team format this year, giving the PGA Tour Champions its only team event. Advertisement Clarke and Bjorn finished at 32-under 181 at TPC Wisconsin. They opened with a better-ball 59 and shot a 58 on Saturday in a scramble round. The 56-year-old Clarke, from Northern Ireland, won for the fifth time on the 59-and-over tour. The 54-year-old Bjorn, from Denmark, won his first Champions title. Striker and Tiziani closed with a 65 to match the teams of Alex Cejka-Soren Kjeldsen (59), Doug Barron-Dicky Pride (69) and Steve Flesch-Paul Goydos (64) at 28 under. Bernhard Langer and Steven Alker were another stroke back after a 63. Ernie Els, the winner last year in individual play, teamed with Tim Herron for a 66 that left them 26 under. ___ AP golf:
Associated Press
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn team to win the American Family Insurance Championship
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — European Ryder Cup captains and teammates Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn won the American Family Insurance Championship on Sunday, shooting a 7-under 64 in better-ball play for a four-stroke victory over four teams. The tournament hosted by Steve Stricker — who tied for second with brother-in-law Mario Tiziani — switched to the team format this year, giving the PGA Tour Champions its only team event. Clarke and Bjorn finished at 32-under 181 at TPC Wisconsin. They opened with a better-ball 59 and shot a 58 on Saturday in a scramble round. The 56-year-old Clarke, from Northern Ireland, won for the fifth time on the 59-and-over tour. The 54-year-old Bjorn, from Denmark, won his first Champions title. Striker and Tiziani closed with a 65 to match the teams of Alex Cejka-Soren Kjeldsen (59), Doug Barron-Dicky Pride (69) and Steve Flesch-Paul Goydos (64) at 28 under. Bernhard Langer and Steven Alker were another stroke back after a 63. Ernie Els, the winner last year in individual play, teamed with Tim Herron for a 66 that left them 26 under. ___ AP golf:
USA Today
07-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Like old times as Ryder Cup partners Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke lead PGA Tour Champions event
Like old times as Ryder Cup partners Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke lead PGA Tour Champions event Show Caption Hide Caption Packers quarterback Jordan Love talks at AmFam Championship in Madison The Packers quarterback is a brand ambassador for American Family Insurance. MADISON, Wisconsin – In many ways, it felt like the previous eight editions of the American Family Insurance Championship, the PGA Tour Champions' annual swing through the state. The weather was perfect, and fans were enjoying a few Leinenkugel's beverages on their strolls around the course. The biggest crowds were following Wisconsin legends Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly. But one glance at the leaderboard and a scan of the houses lining TPC Wisconsin and it's clear that this is definitely not University Ridge, the tournament's previous home. The AmFam switched to the course that Stricker co-designed and also went to a team format, with 38 duos playing best ball in the first round. That's a first for golf's senior circuit. More: AmFam leaderboard Thomas Bjorn and Darren Clarke emerged as leaders with a 12-under 59. They had success playing together in the 2002 Ryder Cup. 'Certainly for me knowing Thomas' game so well made it so much easier for me to go out there and free it up today,' Clarke said. 'I really enjoy playing with him because I know he's there if I mess up, and likewise, I try to be there for him.' Steve Stricker is happy with course ... but not with his shots Stricker thought the course played well in its professional debut. 'We thought the scoring would be pretty good,' Stricker said. 'Weather, we knew it was going to be good today and it's going to be good tomorrow. 'The course is in great condition. But you have to play well going around here. You have to hit it in the fairway, and if you don't have two guys hitting it in the fairway, you put a lot of pressure on the other guys. That's what I'm sure some teams did. If you can get two balls in the fairway, you can actually get pretty aggressive and have a lot of opportunities for birdies.' More: Packers quarterback Jordan Love surprises fans at AmFam Championship Despite the 7-under 64 that Stricker carded with brother-in-law Mario Tiziani, Stricker was less-than-enthused with his own round. There is added emotion with being a teammate. 'I was telling (wife and caddie) Nicki, that could have been a 10-under round pretty easily, really,' Stricker said. 'I left (Tiziani) hanging on these par 5s. 'On 7 I hit it in the hazard, 11 I didn't get it up over the top of the hill. Uncharacteristic of some of the things that I do, too. Kind of left him hanging on those holes where he's in perfect position. If you have another guy in there, kind of frees him up to hit a better chip or whatever the case may be. Yeah, not happy with how I left him hanging on some of those par 5s where we should have been making birdies.' Stricker also not feeling his best Stricker has battled numerous health problems over the past few years. Most serious was a mysterious illness in 2022 that sidelined the 58-year-old Edgerton native for several months in 2022, not long after captaining the U.S. team to a Ryder Cup victory at Whistling Straits. Lately, pain in his back, neck and shoulder has been nagging him, keeping him from a chunk of the Champions Tour schedule. 'Yeah, I'm frustrated,' Stricker said. 'I'm frustrated how I feel, to be quite honest because I don't feel like I'm capable of doing what I want to do. 'I actually hit a really couple, two good shots in a row at 13 and then again at 14, and then it was gone again. It's not … I don't know, I don't know what it is. Struggling to get through the ball in general, so that's frustrating.' Jerry Kelly talks about scramble format for second round Kelly was paired with Justin Leonard and ended up at 6-under. 'It was all right through the first 10,' said Kelly, a Madison native who won back-to-back AmFam titles in 2019 and 2021. 'We got through 5 and 9 ham-and-egging it. 'And then Justin made another one on 10 and, here we go, we've got a par 5 coming up. He hits one left, I top a 3-wood and basically … we didn't really have our best games from there on.' The unique format changes in the second round with a switch to a scramble. 'Tomorrow will be fun,' Leonard said. 'Just our games are very similar. 'Jerry's so consistent. I wasn't very consistent today. I found a little something late in the day and … look, we love playing golf, we love competing, we love playing together. 'To be able to do it in Jerry's hometown with the crowds tomorrow will be a lot of fun. And we'll make a few more birdies tomorrow and hopefully hear the crowds a little bit more than we did today.'
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Aussie twosome hot on leaders' heels in Champions Tour
Thomas Bjorn and Darren Clarke have combined to shoot a 12-under-par 59 to grab the early advantage at the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison. Friday's four ball (best ball) format, which takes the lower score of a pairing of two golfers on each hole, is predisposed to the proliferation of lower scores, and indeed, every coupling of golfers competing was under par on the day. Clarke, of Northern Ireland, and Denmark's Bjorn were a dynamic duo on the first day of the tournament's debut at TPC Wisconsin, with each accounting for seven birdies across 12 different holes. But they have Australian twosome Richard Green and Mark Hensby in hot pursuit, just two behind them. "Certainly for me knowing Thomas's game so well made it so much easier for me to go out there and free it up today," Clarke said. "I really enjoy playing with him because I know he's there if I mess up, and likewise I try to be there for him. "We have, it's like a 'no sorry' policy. We're both trying as hard as we can and we both hit a lot of really good shots today and made the most of our opportunities." Each got on individual hot streaks, nabbing birdies on four straight holes. Overall, Clarke pocketed birdies on Nos.2, 4-7, 9 and 14. Bjorn had birdies at Nos.4-5, 11 and 15-18. "I think we were tactically very, very sound today and did the right things when we had to," Bjorn said. "When we had two balls in the fairway or two balls on the green, we could be aggressive and that's why we holed more putts than we probably normally would, and we could take on a little bit more flags." "You feel the consequences in a different way."@thomasbjorngolf on team format with @DarrenClarke60 as they lead @amfamchamp by 2. — PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) June 6, 2025 Seven duos are within four strokes of the leaders. Green and Hensby at 10-under 61, were good for second place. Hensby had the rougher day of the two with a pair of bogeys, but six birdies by Green kept them in contention. "I think we just both really enjoy the golf course, and the conditions are beautiful," Green said. "It's a lot of fun to play and hit the right shots required on this golf course. I felt comfortable out there." Defending champion Ernie Els of South Africa and his partner Tim Herron are tied for third at nine under alongside Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee and Australia's Brendan Jones. Tied for fifth at eight under are Australians Cameron Percy and David Bransdon, fellow Australians Stuart Appleby and Michael Wright, South Korea's K.J. Choi and Japan's Hiroyuki Fujita and Americans Gene Sauers and Glen Day. Saturday will switch things up with a scramble format - golfers choose the best lie of the two shoots they take from each location along the hole until the hole is completed - before reverting to best ball format on championship Sunday.
