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What does it take for a champion to show up when his body has spent a year telling him to stay home?

For Colin Montgomerie, the answer arrived on a rain-soaked Florida course where champagne flowed, and Darren Clarke told the truth. “He’s been sick all year, hasn’t played much, but he turns up here and plays like a demon,” Clarke said in a 42-second post-victory interview that went viral after Team Europe’s triumph at the 2025 Skechers World Champions Cup. “Huge, huge boost for the European team.”

The words landed with weight. Montgomerie had spent 2024 battling what he described only as “internal” problems that left him “very poorly for six months.” He took a significant break from competitive golf. He didn’t specify the exact illness. Yet when December arrived and Europe needed him at Feather Sound Country Club in Clearwater, the World Golf Hall of Famer showed up anyway.

Montgomerie didn’t just participate. He dominated. In Sunday’s singles sessions, he delivered 21 total points across two sessions. He scored 10.5 points in the morning against Stewart Cink, the 2025 Charles Schwab Cup champion, and Angel Cabrera, who won two senior majors in the spring. He matched that total in the afternoon, becoming the top point scorer in his group for both sessions.

The performance wasn’t accidental. In the morning, Montgomerie birdied holes one, two, and five. When the teams returned for the afternoon session, both Cink and Cabrera opened with birdies. Montgomerie responded with three consecutive birdies from the third hole, then added another at the eighth.

“I mean, from what happened this morning, that was a record points total for this event by a mile this morning,” Montgomerie said after the victory. Team Europe exploded for 34.5 combined points in the Sunday morning singles sessions, with Montgomerie, Clarke, and Thomas Bjørn leading the charge.

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Clarke’s captaincy strategy unleashed Europe’s collective power

The victory wasn’t built on one player. Darren Clarke’s captaincy strategy emphasized team cohesion over individual ego throughout the three-day competition. Clarke deployed strategic pairings across the week, partnering with Thomas Bjørn to revive their unbeaten Ryder Cup pairing from the 2006 K Club victory. When Bernhard Langer fell ill on Day 1, vice captain Søren Kjeldsen stepped in and contributed 20 points across the opening sessions.

The tournament featured nine-hole matches with points awarded per hole, a format highlighted in previous coverage of the event that rewards consistent performance across shortened sessions. Miguel Ángel Jiménez delivered clutch putting throughout the competition when matches tightened.

Sunday morning became the inflection point. Bjørn starred with 12.5 points in his morning session. Clarke contributed 11.5 points in his own match. Alex Cejka added 12.5 points to the European total. The collective effort built a cushion that proved insurmountable by the afternoon.

Kjeldsen clinched the victory in the afternoon session with a birdie on the eighth hole after reeling off five straight birdies to start his match against Steve Flesch and Y.E. Yang. His 12-point afternoon performance, combined with Bernhard Langer’s 12 points in his afternoon session, sealed Europe’s fate. Montgomerie added another 10.5 points in the afternoon to complete his dominant weekend.

The final tally reflected Europe’s depth: 230 points. Team International finished second with 213.5 points. Team USA, the defending champions from the 2023 inaugural event, managed just 204.5 points.

A Hall of Famer’s return validates championship instinct

Montgomerie’s performance transcended the scorecard. At 61 years old, after a year spent battling undisclosed health issues, he proved that championship-level golf remains accessible to those who refuse to quit. His career credentials include 31 European Tour victories, eight Ryder Cup appearances, and three PGA TOUR Champions majors. The resume suggested he’d already accomplished enough. But legacy doesn’t motivate the way competition does.

Clarke understood this when he singled out Montgomerie in the rain-soaked celebration. The captain’s specific language during the post-victory interview revealed both surprise and admiration. Montgomerie had to earn his 21 points the same way every other player did—one hole at a time, against elite competition, with his body still recovering from whatever took him away from the game.

The tournament featured a $1.35 million total purse with $100,000 going to each winning player. The event benefits Shriners Children’s and provides cost-free medical care to children in need. “We’re gonna have sore heads tomorrow morning, but it’s worth it,” Clarke said, raising a champagne bottle as teammates embraced around him in the December Florida rain.

Clarke’s words—”hasn’t played much” and “turns up here and plays like a demon”—suggest uncertainty about Montgomerie’s 2026 schedule. The performance documented what he’s still capable of achieving under championship conditions. Whether his body allows consistent participation across a full Champions Tour season remains unknown.

For now, the evidence speaks clearly. When Team Europe needed him most, Montgomerie delivered 21 points across two sessions, outscored the Charles Schwab Cup champion in head-to-head competition, and proved that a year spent battling illness doesn’t erase decades of competitive instinct.