Former European Ryder Cup teammates Thomas Bjørn and Darren Clarke claimed the top prize at the 2025 American Family Insurance Championship, held at TPC Wisconsin. The tournament featured a new team format with 38 pairs of players.
Team Dynamics and Strategy
In their first year competing together in this format, Bjørn and Clarke relied on their 30-year friendship and experience from the victorious 2002 European Ryder Cup team. They excelled in one of the new formats: four-ball, where each player plays their own ball, but only the lowest score on each hole counts.
- Clarke’s four-ball record: 6 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie
- Bjørn’s four-ball record: 2 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie
Bjørn remarked, "We talked about it for a while then we got here – I think it was a tough golf course in practice rounds – but I think we saw opportunities in it and the game plan we had; we’re both very good drivers of the golf ball and used that to our advantage."
Tournament Highlights
Their strategy paid off as they took the first-round lead with an impressive twelve-under fifty-nine score on June 6. However, they faced a challenge from Steve Stricker and Mario Tiziani when the format changed to scramble on June 7.
In the final round, which returned to four-ball, Bjørn and Clarke held a three-shot advantage going into Thursday morning’s play. Just as they seemed poised for victory, Stricker made a crucial birdie after Clarke missed a short par putt, bringing Wisconsin’s pair back into contention.
Play was suspended due to lightning and rain at 10:36 AM but resumed at 1:15 PM. During the stoppage, both teams maintained steady pars. Following the resumption, Bjørn and Clarke rebuilt their lead with consecutive birdies at holes four and five.
Course Praise
Stricker praised the course design, stating, "Strick built a pretty cool golf course." Clarke also commended the greens, describing them as "phenomenal surfaces, incredibly smooth."
Bjørn noted that having two balls in play provided them an advantage, allowing them more freedom to focus on their individual games rather than relying solely on each other’s shots throughout Thursday afternoon’s action. Ultimately, they secured victory over Stricker and Tiziani.
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