Simpson Cup 2026: Team USA appears to be like to reclaim trophy from Great Britain at Shady Oaks

After 5 years without an outright Simpson Cup victory, the Americans will have expertise, home-course benefit and a heavy dose of Texas on their aspect when they attempt to win the trophy back at Shady Oaks Country Club.

The 14th Simpson Cup will be performed this week in Fort Worth, with Great Britain arriving as defending champion and holding a 7-6 benefit in the all-time collection after a 12-7 victory last yr at Royal St George’s and Prince’s Golf Clubs.

Advertisement

For the U.S., it has been a while: the Americans have not won the Simpson Cup outright since 2021 at The Creek on Long Island. The matches in 2023 and 2024 ended in ties before Great Britain regained the higher hand in 2025. If the Americans are going to change that, they’ll do it with one of their more skilled groups.

Captain Jacob Nelson’s 13-man roster options only two Simpson Cup rookies and consists of former captains Marty Caraway and Chad Pfeifer. Nelson, a Marine veteran who lives in Little Elm, will also get the likelihood to captain his nation in his home state. Texans Jason Leap and Russell Normandin be a part of him on the roster.

“To captain Team USA anywhere would be incredibly special, but to do it here in Texas adds another dimension for me,” Nelson said. “We’ve got three Texans in this team and we know how much it would mean to win the Cup back on home soil. We also have a lot of Simpson Cup experience throughout the group, so our job now is to make that count when the competition starts.”

Great Britain will carry a totally different combine to Fort Worth.

First-time captain Neil Flynn has 5 rookies on his 13-man roster, but he can also lean on some of the most skilled gamers in Simpson Cup historical past. Ian Bishop will make his thirteenth look, Dave Ward his twelfth and Mike Browne his eleventh.

Advertisement

“There are five players experiencing the Simpson Cup for the first time, but they’ve earned their place in this team and I know they’ll embrace everything that comes with representing Great Britain,” Flynn said. “We’re heading to Texas as defending champions, but we know the Americans will be desperate to win it back, particularly on home soil. We’ll need to be at our best.”

The Simpson Cup dates to 2012, when injured veterans from the U.S. and British armed forces gathered at TPC Sawgrass for a Ryder Cup-style competitors.

The occasion is named for John Simpson, the former senior vice president of International Management Group who contracted polio as a youngster and later managed some of golf’s greatest names, including Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh and Greg Norman.

The idea was easy: give wounded, injured and sick service members and veterans the alternative to characterize their international locations in golf. The handicap system permits gamers of totally different talent ranges to compete against one another.

Like the Ryder Cup, the Simpson Cup alternates between the U.S. and Great Britain, and its checklist of venues over the years has been formidable.

Advertisement

After its debut at TPC Sawgrass, the competitors moved to Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2013. Congressional Country Club adopted in 2014, then Royal St George’s, Oak Hill, Royal Birkdale, Maidstone and the Old Course at St. Andrews. After the 2020 occasion was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Simpson Cup returned in 2021 at The Creek, a 1923 C.B. Macdonald design later restored by Gil Hanse.

That week stays the last outright U.S. victory. The Americans jumped out to a 5-1 benefit in fourballs and then won seven singles matches on their approach to a 13-5 victory, reclaiming the Cup after Great Britain had won at St. Andrews in 2019.

Five years later, the Americans will attempt to do it again.

History suggests the path to doing that is fairly clear.

Advertisement

The U.S. has dominated the fourballs over the life of the competitors, outscoring Great Britain 47-31. Singles have been nearly the actual reverse, with Great Britain holding a 90-72 benefit.

That makes Tuesday significantly important for the Americans.

Six fourball matches will put six factors on the board before all 26 gamers head out for Wednesday’s 13 singles matches. Great Britain wants 9½ factors to retain the trophy, while the U.S. wants 10 to win it back.

The 2021 matches confirmed how precious a fast begin can be. That yr, the U.S. won 4 of six fourball matches and tied the other two to construct its 5-1 benefit before singles.

Advertisement

This time, the Americans will attempt to construct that cushion at one of the most storied golf equipment in Texas.

Shady Oaks Country Club has long been synonymous with Ben Hogan, who made the Fort Worth membership his {golfing} home. Now it joins a Simpson Cup venue checklist crammed with main championship programs and some of the most recognizable names in golf.

The significance of bringing the occasion to Texas extends beyond the competitors itself.

The 2026 Simpson Cup will serve as the launching level for On Course Foundation’s Texas Initiative, designed to set up a regional presence and create more accessible alternatives for veterans all through the state.

Advertisement

On Course Foundation plans to construct the operation in 2027 while connecting Texas veterans with its national packages, occasions and employment alternatives.

Every Simpson Cup participant is a member of On Course Foundation, which makes use of golf not only as competitors but as a route back to confidence, function and employment. The group supplies golf instruction, mentoring, training and employment support, including pathways to jobs within the golf industry.

That mission has been tied to the Simpson Cup from its starting.

The golf, though, gets loads critical once the matches begin.

The week started with the opening ceremony and gala dinner on Sunday, adopted by the Player/Sponsor Tournament on Monday.

Advertisement

Then it’s time to determine the Cup as six fourball matches open competitors Tuesday, before 13 singles matches Wednesday determine who leaves Shady Oaks with the Ben Simpson Trophy, named in reminiscence of founder John Simpson MBE’s son, who died in 2022.

Great Britain comes to Texas with the trophy and a 7-6 lead in the collection.

The Americans have home soil, an skilled roster and three Texans attempting to take it back.

And if more than a decade of Simpson Cup historical past tells us anything, the U.S. would be smart to construct a lead before those 13 singles matches start.

Tim Schmitt is the managing editor of Golfweek.

This article initially appeared on Golfweek: Simpson Cup 2026: Team USA appears to be like to reclaim trophy from Great Britain at Shady Oaks