Darren Clarke surely relishes the American Family Insurance Championship’s new format.
In the tournament’s two years as the PGA Tour Champions’ only team event, the Northern Irishman has won the title both times — with two different partners.
Clarke and Ben Crane posted a 4-under-par 67 Sunday and held on for a one-stroke win over Kenny Perry and George McNeill at TPC Wisconsin in Madison, Wis.
The tournament saw 38 two-man teams play four ball (best ball) on Friday and Sunday and a scramble format Saturday. Clarke and Crane made the most of that scramble, compiling a tournament record 17-under 54 to take the lead.
The duo didn’t put a birdie on their card Sunday until the par-5 seventh, but they added three birdies on the back nine to grind out the victory at 30-under 183.
“You can see why this guy’s won Ryder Cup after Ryder Cup,” Crane said. “It’s just elite golf, elite mentally. We didn’t have our best stuff. … As fun as yesterday was, is as tough as today was.”
Clarke won the 2025 edition of the event with Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, who could not play this season after undergoing back surgery.
On Saturday, Clarke commented that he picks good partners — “there’s no other reason apart from that” — but the 2011 Open champion also was a key part of four victorious European Ryder Cup teams.
“It was a hard day for us both and we both stepped up and made some clutch putts and clutch shots when we really had to down the stretch,” Clarke said Sunday. “We said at the start of the week, our goal was to get ourselves in the mix on the back nine on Sunday and that’s what we did.”
“He said to me on Tuesday, ‘There’s nothing like being in the mix on the back nine on Sunday,'” Crane added. “He said, ‘We’re good enough to be there if we play our game, keep two balls in play.’ We didn’t play good today, but we were right here.”
It is Clarke’s sixth win on the PGA Tour Champions and Crane’s first. Crane turned 50 earlier this year and is in his first year on the seniors’ circuit.
Perry and McNeill got in contention with a round of 62 that included six birdies between Nos. 11-17 to shoot up the leaderboard. Perry was responsible for four of those birdies as well as three straight on the opening three holes.
“I remember when I was a rookie on (the PGA Tour) in ‘07, I mean, he was in his prime winning everything,” McNeill said of Perry. “I didn’t really know Kenny that well back then, so to pair up with him this week and actually watch it firsthand to see three full days … just to learn a little bit, especially today. He played unbelievable today. It was so much fun to watch, to be a part of.”
Tied for third at 28 under were Australians Cameron Percy and Greg Chalmers (66) and Brian Gay and Slovakia’s Rory Sabbatini (65).
–Field Level Media
