CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Charles Schwab Cup champion Stewart Cink and Jason Caron combined for 22.5 points in two matches Friday to help the Americans pull closer to Team Europe heading into the final session of singles in the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children's.

Europe got solid performances from three former Ryder Cup captains — Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjørn and Colin Montgomerie — and maintained a narrow lead at 109.5 points.

Team USA were at 108 points and Team International had three teams come out on top to stay close at 106.5 points. Team International Captain Mike Weir and Steven Alker produced the most points in both their matches.

The pro-am at Feather Sound Country Club is Saturday, with the Singles session on Sunday.

“Jason and Stewart had a great two sessions really, morning and afternoon,” U.S. Captain Jim Furyk said. “They played some beautiful golf and led the way for us. They let us claw our way back in, and now ... it’s anyone’s ballgame on Sunday.”

The three-way competition features nine-hole matches of modified alternate shot and better ball. Points are awarded on the outcome of each hole. Half of the points are up for grabs in Singles.

• Course setup (nine holes): Par 36 / Morning: 3,356 yards / Afternoon: 3,373 yards
• Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 80. Winds S/SW with gusts nearing 20 mph.

Session 3 scores (Morning Six Ball)

• Six Ball #4
  • Stewart Cink/Jason Caron (USA): 11.0 points
  • Thomas Bjorn/Darren Clarke (EUR): 9.5 points
  • Y.E. Yang/Mark Hensby (INT): 6.5 points
• Six Ball #5
  • Colin Montgomerie/Miguel Ángel Jiménez (EUR): 11.5 points
  • Jerry Kelly/Steve Flesch (USA): 8.5 points
  • K.J. Choi/Ricardo Gonzalez: 7.0 points
• Six Ball #6
  • Steven Alker/Mike Weir (INT): 10.5 points
  • Alex Cejka/Soren Kjeldsen (EUR): 9.0 points
  • Steve Stricker/Justin Leonard (USA): 7.5 points

Session 3 notes

• Team Europe closed out the third session with a 7.5-point lead.
• The European duo of Colin Montgomerie and Miguel Ángel Jiménez captured the most points in the Morning Session with 11.5 points in the second group.

Team scores after Session 3

Session 4 scores (Afternoon Scotch Sixsomes)

• Scotch Sixsome #4
  • Stewart Cink/Jason Caron (USA): 11.5 points
  • Thomas Bjorn/Darren Clarke (EUR): 8.0 points
  • Y.E. Yang/Charlie Wi (INT): 7.5 points
• Scotch Sixsome #5
  • K.J. Choi/Ángel Cabrera (INT): 12.0 points
  • Jerry Kelly/Steve Flesch (USA): 8.0 points
  • Colin Montgomerie/Miguel Angel Jimenez (EUR): 7.0 points
• Scotch Sixsome #6
  • Steven Alker/Mike Weir (INT): 10.5 points
  • Steve Stricker/Justin Leonard (USA): 9.0 points
  • Alex Cejka/Bernhard Langer (EUR): 7.5 points

Session 4 notes

• Team USA’s duo of Stewart Cink and Jason Caron began to close the gap, scoring the most points of today’s sixsomes and six-ball sessions, totaling 22.5 points on eight birdies for the day.
• Following this morning’s session, the pairings changed with Bernhard Langer (illness) making his 2025 Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s debut, meanwhile Team International saw two substitutions with Charli Wi replacing Mark Hensby (afternoon only) and Ángel Cabrera subbing in for Ricardo González (morning only).
• The afternoon addition of Cabrera, paired with K.J. Choi, carded a bogey-free round to notch 12 points for Team International in the final group.

Team scores after Session 4

Format and scoring overview

• In every group, all nine holes of competition will be played. No group will feature close-outs.
• A total of three points will be awarded on each hole of every nine-hole competition during Thursday and Friday’s team competition as well as for Sunday’s morning and afternoon Singles groups.
  • The team with the lowest score on each hole will receive two points. The team with the second-lowest score on a hole will receive one point. The team with the highest score will receive no points.
  • Whenever teams finish with the same score on a hole, those teams will be awarded the same number of points. o If two teams finish with the lowest score on a hole, each team will receive one and a half points. The third team, finishing with the highest score, will receive no points.
  • If one team finishes with the lowest score on a hole and the other two finish with the same (higher) score, the team with the lowest score will receive two points, with the other two teams receiving a half point.
  • If all three teams finish with the same score on a hole, each team will receive one point.

Definitions

• Six Ball (Best Ball): Each player plays his own ball for the entire hole, and the lowest score from each team is used.
• Scotch Sixsomes (Modified Alternate-Shot): Each player hits a tee shot, and the team then selects one tee shot to play from. Alternate-shot play begins from there, with the player whose drive was not selected hitting the second shot on the hole.