- December 23, 2024
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Team USA's Jerry Kelly hits a shot on the No. 1 hole at The Concession Golf Club on day one of the World Champions Cup. Kelly and teammate Justin Leonard earned a total of 20 points, 10 in each session, for Team USA on day one.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam Europe's Bernhard Langer hits an approach shot on the No. 1 hole at The Concession Golf Club during the Scotch Sixsome session of day one of the World Champions Cup. Langer and teammate Alex Cejka would birdie the hole.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam International's Vijay Singh hits an approach shot on the No. 1 hole at The Concession Golf Club during the Scotch Sixsome round on day one of the World Champions Cup.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam International's Stephen Ames lines up a putt, with a look of determination, on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club during the Six Ball session on day one of the World Champions Cup.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam International's Stephen Ames putts on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club during the Six Ball session of day one of the World Champions Cup. Ames and teammate Vijay Singh birdied the hole.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam Europe's Robert Karlsson tries to find the line for his putt on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club during the Six Ball session Thursday.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam USA's Billy Andrade raises his golf ball aloft after sinking a putt on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club during the morning session of the World Champions Cup. Andrade and teammate Steve Stricker would par the hole.
Team International's K.J. Choi walks onto the green on the No. 9 hole at the Concession Golf Club during the Six Ball morning session of the World Champions Cup. Choi and teammate Ernie Els would par the hole.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam USA's Jerry Kelly can't believe that his chip shot onto the No. 9 green at The Concession Golf Club did not go in the hole. Kelly and teammate Justin Leonard would par the hole during the Six Ball morning session of the World Champions Cup on Thursday.
Photo by Ryan KohnSteve Stricker his a ball onto the green on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club. He and teammate Billy Andrade would par the hole during the Six Ball session on day one of the World Champions Cup.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam USA's David Toms hits a shot on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club. Toms and teammate Brett Quigley earned nine points for their team during the afternoon Scotch Sixsome session on day one of the World Champions Cup.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam International's Steven Alker hits a shot on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club during the Scotch Sixsome session of day one of the World Champions Cup. Alker and teammate Retief Goosen earned 10 points for their team during the session.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam Europe's Darren Clarke looks at the No. 9 green at The Concession Golf Club before his chip shot during the Scotch Sixsome session of day one of the World Champions Cup.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam USA's David Toms and Brett Quigley look over the green on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club. The pair earned nine points for Team USA during the Scotch Sixsome session on day one of the World Champions Cup.
Photo by Ryan KohnTeam Europe's Colin Montgomery hits a shot on the No. 9 hole at The Concession Golf Club during the afternoon Scotch Sixsome session of day one of the World Champions Cup. Montgomery and teammate Darren Clarke earned eight points during the session.
Photo by Ryan KohnThe main lesson learned after the first day of PGA Tour Champions' World Champions Cup?
Things can change quickly.
After the morning Six Ball session of the event, which is being held at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Team Europe had earned 31.5 points and a 5-point lead over Team USA (26.5), with Team International in third (23).
By the end of the afternoon session, things had tightened. Team Europe now (55.5) leads by a half-point over Team USA (55), with Team International still within striking distance (51.5).
It was the type of action everyone expected within the World Champions Cup format.
"It was quite an interesting day to try to get used to the format and the scoring and all that sort of stuff, but it was exciting in that we played hard," Team Europe captain Darren Clarke said. "We were all trying to win our points."
Clarke and partner Colin Montgomerie earned 13 points in the morning Six Ball session, the most of any pairing. But in the afternoon Scotch Sixsome session, which requires partners to alternate shots after selecting the pair's best tee shot, Team Europe struggled.
"Monty and I, this morning, 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. Monty struggled a little bit using my golf ball this afternoon because (there's) a little bit more spin on my golf ball than what he's used to, so I think we might change that for tomorrow. But he still hit some great shots and we did okay."
Team USA's Steve Stricker and Billy Andrade had strong play throughout the day, earning 10 points during Six Ball play — tied for the most of any pair in the session with Team USA's Justin Leonard and Jerry Kelly. Stricker and Andrade earned 9.5 points in the afternoon Scotch Sixsome. Asked if they went into the day with a specific strategy, the pair said no. They only wanted to play good golf alongside a friend.
"It's kind of, do what's comfortable, make sure your partner's in a comfortable position and don't try to let him hang out there by himself," Stricker said. "I think (that) is a big thing, especially in best ball in the morning. If you can get two balls in the fairway, two 4-balls on the green, that's huge. We didn't do that a lot, but I think we played well together. We held each other up when we needed to and it was a good pairing."
A full leaderboard can be found at the event's PGATour.com page. The event will resume Friday with Six Ball at 9:30 a.m. and Scotch Sixsome at 12:45 p.m.
