Bjorn and Clarke recapture Ryder Cup form in AmFam Championship win

MADISON – Former European Ryder Cup teammates Thomas Bjørn and Darren Clarke put on a ball striking and putting exhibition through a damp afternoon on June 8, outlasting tournament host Steve Stricker and partner Mario Tiziani for the 2025 American Family Insurance Championship victory at TPC Wisconsin.

In the first year of a new team format for the AmFam Championship, which featured 38 pairs of players, Clark and Bjørn leaned on their 30-year friendship and their experience playing together on the victorious 2002 European Ryder Cup team at the Belfry in England.

But more than that, the two excelled in one of the new formats of Stricker’s tournament: four-ball.

Also known as best ball, which means each player plays his own ball but the player with the lowest score on the hole is counted, Clarke recorded a 6-2-1 all-time four-ball record in the Ryder Cup while Bjørn went 2-1-1.

“We talked about it for awhile and then we got here – I think it was a tough golf course in the 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 we used that to our advantage,” Bjørn said. “We probably got the better of this golf course by having two balls in play. Our Ryder Cup experience tells us having two balls in play, having two putts for birdie always frees you up a as a player.”

So perhaps it was no surprise that the pair took a first-round tournament lead on June 6 with a blistering 12-under 59. They were reeled in a bit by Stricker and Tiziani on June 7, when the format changed to a scramble and the Wisconsin pair carded a 15-under 56.

AmFam Championship: Final leaderboard

But it was back to four-ball for the final round on June 8, and Bjørn and Clarke had a three-shot advantage to work with. They nearly gave it all away on the first hole, with Clarke missing a short par putt and Stricker making a testy birdie, bringing the Wisconsin players with a shot.

Play was suspended due to lightning and rain at 10:36 a.m. and did not resume until 1:15 p.m. After a steady par coming out of the stoppage, Bjørn and Clarke rebuilt the three-shot advantage with consecutive birdies on Nos. 4 and 5. And they just kept rolling from there.

“I felt very comfortable and I know in our conversations this morning we felt very comfortable about what was ahead of us, but you’re also very aware of who was behind us and what they’re capable of,” Bjørn said. “So, you gotta go and finish the job.”

From there, the field could only hope more mistakes would come.

They did not, as Clarke and Bjørn traded long birdie putts and chip-ins while Stricker and Tiziani’s swings and putters failed them as they ended up in a four-way tie at 28-under.

“We had an opportunity – they played great, first of all,” Stricker said of the champions. “They played great. I think that making the turn and then really I had an opportunity at 10 and 11 that we didn’t capitalize on. All of a sudden they’re 4 ahead at that point where we could have been only 2 behind. That, looking back at it, was kind of the turning moment of the tournament for us. At that point we were just trying to scrap out and see if we get second place alone. Yeah, they played great, they did a lot of good things. They made putts when they had to, they hit it great. Most deserving.”

The winning team shared $600,000 of the $3 million purse.

Tournament format may be tweaked in 2026

The tournament’s team format – as well as the alternating dates of four-ball and scramble – was a first for the PGA Tour Champions. But while the scramble was very unique (professionals do not play that format in a tournament setting) and players were publicly supportive of it during the week, Stricker allowed that the tournament may move to a modified alternate shot in 2026.

That is a format where both players would tee off, but then they would alternate after that.

“I think that would be a nice added twist. But for this first year I think it went over very well, got a lot of positive feed back from the players, the fans, everybody involved. TPC Wisconsin did an unbelievable job, the course was in great shape, there wasn’t really anything that went wrong.”

Stricker allowed he wanted to hear from the players and see what they would really like to have, though.

Stricker-designed course holds up in first tournament test

TPC Wisconsin was constructed on the grounds of the former Cherokee Country Club, with Stricker taking the lead on the renovation designs – along with PGA Tour Head of Design Steve Wenzloff – of the course owned by his father-in-law Dennis Tiziani.

“’Strick’ built a pretty cool golf course,” Jerry Kelly said. “While it was really firm and maturing, it was scary. I think it’s really grown into itself. He made some great changes. You know, I think the first time we play it, I’m glad there’s not as much wind because that’s what’s going to make this course really, really tough. But it’s playing exactly the way everybody can get to see how cool of a layout it is. The next couple years, if it gets hard, tough conditions, everybody will kind of understand. But it’s a really fun playing golf course right now. I think he did a great job.”

Stricker said after the tournament that he did not hear many complaints about the venue throughout the week, and in particular after the tournament rounds.

“Normally guys that are really tough on conditions and courses and we heard a lot, a lot of positive things,” Stricker said. “I asked the scoring table in there, tell me what you heard this week, because usually when a guy comes in to sign his scorecard he’ll let it fly. To be quite honest with you we heard a lot of positive things.”

While a traditional, individual stroke play format can offer up a glimpse of how a course is playing in relation to the scores under par, it’s a bit harder to get a feel for that considering all the team scores were low.

But make no mistake, the players felt the new course – which has water in play on 16 holes – held up:

Brendan Jones: “I really, really like it. You’ve just got to man up and hit good shots, there’s no; there’s no other option. There’s probably a little bit more room on a lot of holes than what you actually realize because visually it’s quite an intimidating golf course, but the greens are fantastic, they are phenomenal, the surfaces are incredible. Yeah, there’s a lot of opportunities for birdies out there once you get it on the fairway. You know, I think it’s an ideal golf course for the format that we’re playing.”

Tim Herron: “Well, what I would say is I have three sons that are trying to play golf, college golf and one’s turning pro. I’m going to have ’em come down here for a week just to play this golf course and kind of learn about their game because this is one hard golf course.”

Ernie Els: “Yeah, if you grow up here and you play this type of course, you’ll hit it like Steve Stricker. You’ll be forced to hit it like Steve Stricker because if you miss, you guys have played it, if you miss here you can really ratchet up a score. Maybe in a couple years’ time we’ll play an individual event again, but I think the team format’s really catching on with the players.”

Thomas Bjørn: “When we’re on our game, drive the ball pretty well, put it in play. Certainly on this golf course that’s a nice thing to do. You’ve got to take the pressure away. You can see that even with the guys we played with or guys around the golf course, the pressure comes easy on this golf course. It’s a good designed golf course, but you’ve got to be in play off the tee because those iron shots into the greens, there’s a lot of areas where you want to go and a lot of places you don’t want to go.”

Jerry Kelly and Justin Leonard finish tied for 34^th

Madison’s Jerry Kelly teamed up with former British Open champion Justin Leonard to finish tied for 34^th. The duo shot a 65 in the opening round four-ball and backed it up with a 66 for the scramble in round two. During the return to four-ball for the final round June 8, Kelly and Leonard shot a 15-under for a tournament total 198.

Kelly won the tournament when it was in a stroke play format in 2019 and 2021 and finished second in 2018.