Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV Showdown in Vegas
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Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy during the BMW PGA Championship in September 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LOS ANGELES – PGA Tour stars Rory McIlroy and top-ranked Scottie Scheffler will face LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in an exhibition event in Las Vegas on Dec 17, organisers announced on Oct 9.
The 18-hole, made-for-television event, called The Showdown, between four of the biggest names from the upstart Saudi-backed LIV series and the PGA Tour, will be staged at Shadow Creek.
Scheffler, who won the Masters and Olympics among his eight titles in 2024, and McIlroy, a four-time Major winner, will partner against two-time US Open champion DeChambeau, who edged out McIlroy for this season’s US Open crown, and five-time Major winner Koepka – the only players to have won Majors while they were active LIV members.
The PGA Tour and LIV’s backers, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), are in merger talks but have been unable to complete a deal to reunite golf’s elite players.
The LIV-PGA contest, McIlroy said at September’s Irish Open, is less about trying to push those long-stalled negotiations and more about bringing some joy to golf fans annoyed by the three-season split.
“I wouldn’t say it’s meant to send a message. It’s more we wanted to do something that, I guess, all golf fans could get excited about,” said the Northern Irishman.
“You’ve got the best player in the world. You’ve got two guys in Bryson and Brooks that have won Majors in the last two years. You’ve got me in there who – I haven’t done what those guys have done the last couple years but I’ve definitely been, I feel, one of the best players in the world.
“It’s a way to show golf fans in the world that this is what could happen or these are the possibilities going forward.”
With LIV players banned from PGA Tour events since the breakaway series swiped big-name players from the PGA in 2022, Major championships have been the only place where some LIV and PGA stars compete against one another.
“It’s in the middle of December. There’s not a lot going on in the game of golf. So trying to get people excited about something before the season starts again,” McIlroy added of The Showdown.
“We all thought it was a good idea and something that hopefully is a sign of things to come in the future.”
Shadow Creek hosted the first version of The Match – the predecessor to The Showdown – between Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods and potentially could host as many as 5,000 fans for the December event.
The format has yet to be finalised, but will be an 18-hole event. Some celebrity-driven versions of The Match were reduced to 12 holes.
“The Match turned into celebrity golf,” said Hollywood producer Bryan Zuriff, who started the two events. “And 12 holes is good for celebrity golf. This is 18 holes of real golf and could even potentially expand in the future.”
He said he also envisions expanding beyond four players down the road. There is reportedly a six-year deal to continue The Showdown both in Las Vegas at Shadow Creek and at international locations, rotating annually. An event in the Middle East is under consideration for 2025.
Zuriff also said he expects interest in The Showdown, given it is the only time outside of Major tournaments that the PGA and LIV golfers can go head to head.
“I don’t think we have to market or play that up,” he said. “I think it speaks for itself.” AFP, REUTERS
