Four of the most recognisable players in the world are set for ‘The Showdown’ – billed by some as a grudge match between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf factions which form each side of golf’s so-called civil war.
Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, who have both remained loyal to the established PGA Tour, take on LIV pair Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in an 18-hole Ryder Cup-style event under floodlights in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
“This isn’t just a contest between some of golf’s major champions, it’s an event designed to energise the fans,” said McIlroy.
American duo DeChambeau and Koepka were among the early flurry of marquee names lured to the breakaway Saudi-backed tour by multi-million dollar deals.
With opportunities for all players to compete in the same field restricted by the PGA Tour banning LIV defectors, The Showdown offers a rare chance to bring together four players with a combined tally of 13 majors.
“We want to beat them, we want to showcase the world we’re the top two dogs,” Koepka said.
The PGA Tour players – McIlroy and Scheffler
Once the most vocal opponent of the LIV revolution, four-time major champion McIlroy remains one of the PGA Tour’s biggest assets.
The 35-year-old from Northern Ireland came close to ending his 10-year drought in the sport’s most prestigious tournaments at the US Open, only to fumble the opportunity on the last stretch.
However, a season of near misses ended with McIlroy winning the DP World Tour Championship and clinching his sixth Race to Dubai title.
Scheffler is the undisputed best player in the world after a dominant season in which he reached a consistent height bettered recently by only Tiger Woods in his pomp.
The 28-year-old American is the first player to start and finish the year as men’s world number one since Woods in 2009, finishing 293 under par for his 21 starts this year.
That led to nine tournaments triumphs – including the Masters, Players Championship and Olympics – to tie Woods and Vijay Singh for the most prolific seasons in terms of wins.
The LIV Golf players – DeChambeau and Koepka
With the non-traditional event aiming to attract newer audiences to golf, DeChambeau is arguably the biggest draw.
The 31-year-old can still lay claim to be being one of the top players in the world – evidenced by his victory at the US Open when he benefitted from McIlroy’s collapse – but has also shown his appeal to a wider market through the success of his YouTube channel.
“Bryson had a hell of a year. I played with him enough to know what he could have done on the PGA Tour,” said Koepka.
Five-time major champion Koepka, by his own admission, is playing well below the standard of his partner.
The 34-year-old has won two LIV Tour events – which are played over 54 holes rather than 72 – this year, but did not manage to earn a top-25 finish in any of the four majors.
When does ‘The Showdown’ take place?
The Showdown takes place on Tuesday, 17 December at about 23:30 GMT.
It is being played at the Shadow Creek Golf Club in Las Vegas.
Shadow Creek was also the venue for the winner-takes-all contest between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson – dubbed ‘The Match’ – in 2018.
How can you follow the event?
The event is purpose-built for an American television audience and is expected to get under way around 23:00 GMT.
What is the format of ‘The Showdown’?
The 18-hole event will be split into three different parts to determine the winner.
The first six holes will be played as a better ball – where each player plays their own ball and the lowest score on each hole is used as the team score.
The next six holes will be foursomes – with each player in the team taking alternate shots.
Singles will be played over the final six holes.
The winners will not receive a cash prize, but instead fight for a $10m cryptocurrency purse put up by the event’s sponsors.
Will ‘The Showdown’ lead to more crossover PGA Tour/LIV events?
The contest between four of the biggest names in the sport comes as the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – which funds LIV – continue to discuss a merger.
Negotiations between the PGA Tour and the PIF have been taking place for more than a year in an attempt to end a split in the game.
When a deal will be agreed remains uncertain.
Relations have undoubtedly thawed, however, as evidenced by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan playing alongside PIF governor Yassir Al-Rumayyan at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship pro-am event in October.
McIlroy says the purpose of ‘The Showdown’ was not necessarily to act as a catalyst for unity.
“It was really about us saying we’re going take this into our own hands a little bit and we’re going to do something outside either tour,” he said.
“We want to let the fans know that we’re trying to provide entertainment, that the players want to play together more often.”
