- April 27, 2024
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Team Europe's Robert Karlsson gives a disappointed look after his shot onto the No. 8 green at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. Karlsson and teammate Miguel Angel Jimenez would birdie the hole during the day's Six Ball session.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam USA's Justin Leonard tees off on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. Leonard and teammate Jerry Kelly would par the hole during the day's Six Ball session.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam International's Ernie Els contemplates a putt on the No. 4 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. Els and teammate K.J. Choi would birdie the hole during the day's Scotch Sixsome session.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam International's Steven Alker lines up a putt on the No. 4 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. Alker and teammate Retief Goosen would birdie the hole during the day's Scotch Sixsome session.
Photo by Ryan KohnColin Montgomerie hits his first shot on the No. 2 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. Montgomerie and teammate Darren Clarke would par the hole during the day's Scotch Sixsome session.
Photo by Ryan KohnFans follow the final group of the day (Kelly/Leonard; Langer/Cejka; and Singh/Ames) onto the No. 4 green at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam Europe's Alex Cejka watches his second shot on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. Cejka and teammate Bernhard Langer would bogey the hole during the day's Six Ball session.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam International's Stephen Ames grimaces while watching his second shot on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. Ames and teammate Vijay Singh would bogey the hole during the day's Six Ball session.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam Europe's Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clarke have a chat about their plan of attack on day two of the World Champions Cup at The Concession Golf Club. The pair would earn nine points for their team during the day's Scotch Sixsome session.
Photo by Ryan KohnBrett Quigley putts on the No. 4 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. Quigley and teammate David Toms would bogey the hole during the day's Scotch Sixsome session.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam Europe's Miguel Angel Jimenez eyes up a putt on the No. 8 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. Jimenez and teammate Robert Karlsson would birdie the hole during the day's Six Ball session.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam USA's Steve Stricker watches his putt on the No. 4 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. Stricker's putt would roll past the hole, but he and teammate Billy Andrade would eventually save par on the hole during the day's Scotch Sixsome session.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam International's Steven Alker hits his first shot on the No. 2 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. Alker and teammate Retief Goosen would par the hole during the day's Scotch Sixsome session.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam USA's Jerry Kelly waits in anticipation for his second shot on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club to land on day two of the World Champions Cup. Kelly and teammate Justin Leonard would birdie the hole during the day's Six Ball session.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam USA's Steve Stricker and Billy Andrade bump fists after saving par on the No. 4 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day two of the World Champions Cup. The pairing would earn 11 points for Team USA during the day's Scotch Sixsome session.
Photo by Ryan KohnIn a sign of how unpredictable the first-year World Champions Cup can be, Team International leads the PGA Tour Champions event after Friday's play by a half point at the end of day two.
Team International was third, and last, after the first day.
Team International has 111.5 points to second-place Team USA, which is only a half point behind. Team Europe, which led the competition after the first day, has 101.5.
Team International captain Ernie Els said he did not panic after the first day's results. Els talked to his players after their first-day problems and they all responded that they felt they could play better with a day's experience on The Concession course. They asked Els not to change the pairings, and he didn't.
"We had dinner last night, we talked about a couple of things," Els said. "The guys were well fed so they were ready to go."
Els joked that he got a scare when he saw that Team Europe and Team USA had also left their pairings the same.
"I said, 'Is this thing rigged?'" Els said. "What the hell's going on? We're all thinking the same thing. It was weird and so funny, seeing the same guys again all day today."
Team International was led the by pairing of Steven Alker and Retief Goosen, which earned 12 points during the morning Six Ball session and 10.5 points during the afternoon Scotch Sixsome session. Both scores led the pair's grouping.
"Me and (Steven) Alker combined well," Goosen said. "We were never really in a lot of trouble, so it was nice going. And it was great to see everybody else playing so well, too, and making up some lost ground from yesterday. It's going to be an exciting day come Sunday. It's a pity that we're not playing tomorrow. It would have been nice to keep the momentum going."
The teams expect the volatility in scoring to continue into the event's final day on Sunday, which will see 12 singles matches (involving one player from each team) take place over the course of a morning and afternoon session. The singles matches will represent half of the event's available points, so all three teams are still within striking distance.
"It's totally different," Team Europe captain Darren Clarke said of the singles matches. "You've got to be a little bit more defensive, but then at the same time — because we're obviously behind — we've got to make some points. I think the volatility's going to rocket up a lot. You can hit some good shots out there and get maybe not as rewarded as what you would expect because of the greens and how severe some of the slopes are. So you can find yourself in a real tricky situation very easily without actually hitting a bad shot."
The event will pause on Saturday for an an 18-hole pro-am at The Concession Golf Club. The course will be closed to the public.
Sunday's final day of the World Champions Cup will begin with a morning session at 9:30 a.m., then an afternoon session at 1:10 p.m. Lineups for the day's morning session will be released Saturday. Teams will have the option of adjusting their lineups before the afternoon session.
