Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke teamed with Ben Crane to break an event record with their 17-under 54 on Saturday at the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wis.
Partnering for the first time at the PGA Tour Champions’ only team event, Clarke and Crane birdied a remarkable 17 of 18 holes in the scramble format to get to 26 under.
Their low round bested by two shots the previous record of 56 established by Steve Stricker and Mario Tiziani during 2025’s scramble round.
“Listen, when you shoot 54, put 54 on your scorecard, that’s pretty impressive,” Clarke said. “I’ve never done that before. It was wonderful. Great to stand there and play with somebody who you know if you miss a putt or you miss a shot, they’re going to back you up and hit it in there.”
The duo came into the day at 9-under after a 62 during Friday’s four ball (best ball) format. They then teed off their round with nine straight birdies, settled for par on the par-4 10th, and closed with eight more birdies to build a three-shot lead going into Sunday.
The three-day event at TPC Wisconsin introduced the team format last year. The first and final rounds are four ball (best ball), while Saturday’s second round was a scramble.
Clarke is a defending champion at the event, having won with former partner Thomas Bjorn in 2025. Bjorn is resting this year, recovering from spinal surgery.
Crane, 50, is trying to snap a winless streak of nearly 12 years (11 years, 11 months and 29 days). Clarke, by contrast, is trying to become just the second two-time winner of this event, joining Jerry Kelly (2019, ’21).
The 57-year-old Clarke has five wins overall at Champions.
“Today was one of those special days that I’ll remember for my whole life, shooting 54 with Darren Clarke,” Crane said.
In second place at 23 under are Australia’s Cameron Percy and Greg Chalmers. Like Clarke and Crane, they went bogey-free, recording an eagle on No. 11 to card a 58. They are both seeking their first win on the Champions tour.
Freddie Jacobson of Sweden and Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark had been the first-round leaders after scoring a 59. They dropped into a tie for sixth place on Saturday at 21 under with a second-round 62.
Three teams are tied for third place at 22 under: Alex Cejka of Germany and Tim O’Neal (57), Jason Caron and Brett Quigley (58) and Rory Sabbatini of Slovakia and Brian Gay (60).
Tied with Jacobson and Kjeldsen at 21 under are Tag Ridings and Tommy Gainey (58), Doug Barron and Dicky Pride (58) and Paul Stankowski and Scott Parel (59).
