Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka will face off in a matchplay event in Las Vegas in December, with the quartet set to be financially rewarded for their involvement
Golf stars Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka are poised to reap a financial windfall when they compete in a high-stakes matchplay contest in Las Vegas later this year. The event, dubbed ‘The Showdown’, will pit PGA Tour duo McIlroy and Scheffler against DeChambeau and Koepka from LIV Golf on December 17 at Shadow Creek, with TNT broadcasting the action.
The past two years have seen men’s professional golf dominated by talk of money, with a financial arms race erupting between the PGA Tour and LIV since the latter’s inception in June 2022. Although there will be no prize money awarded to the winning pair in Vegas, Sports Illustrated reports that all four players will receive an appearance fee for participating.
This development comes after McIlroy had expressed hope that the match would shift the focus away from the constant discussion of paychecks in the sport. “You’ve got the best player in the world,” he said at the Irish Open last month.
“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. I’ve been saying this for a long time. I think golf and golf fans get to see us together more than four times a year. I think that’s what we’ve tried to do. 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. I think we all thought it was a good idea and something that hopefully is a sign of things to come in the future.”
News on ‘The Showdown’ broke as discussions between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) carried on. There’s a desire for a truce to heal the divide between the Tour and LIV Golf, with later developments at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship offering spectators a glimpse into potential future camaraderie.
