Rory McIlroy and World No. 1 Scotty Scheffler cruised to victory for the PGA Tour team against LIV Golf stars Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in the first edition of The Showdown.
The first-of-its-kind competition marks the first time PGA Tour players have competed against LIV Golf players outside of major tournaments and the Olympics, with DeChambeau and Koepka both ineligible for the PGA Tour sponsored by Saudi Arabia after joining the district in 2022.
Scheffler and McIlroy never trailed and needed just 14 holes to win at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas.
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Take a look back at the best of Rory McIlroy’s four world victories in 2024: the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the Zurich Classic at New Orleans, the Wells Fargo Championship and the DP World Tour Championship.
With four total points available, two in singles, 2 1/2 points were needed to win, and the final McIlroy/DeChambeau meeting was not over as the much sharper PGA Tour duo cruised to victory in dominant fashion.
The format was one point for a six-hole four-ball match, one point for a six-hole four-ball match and one point for a singles match for the last six holes.
McIlroy came out firing and made a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-five par-4 with DeChambeau already in two. But then DeChambeau missed his eagle attempt and the PGA Tour side was on its way to a four-hole victory.
“Rory’s great start was huge for our team,” Scheffler said.
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Check out Scotty Scheffler’s final round story as he claimed a second green jacket at Augusta National with a four-under 68, his second Masters win in three years.
The foursome were tight and the match looked like it might end in a tie until DeChambeau sent a long birdie putt from about 10 feet on the final hole and Koepka missed it to return to a three-stroke bogey that PGA Tour- gave to: mention the need for it.
Scheffler and McIlroy never trailed in singles, and play ended on the 16th hole without viewers getting a chance to see the par-three 17th at Shadow Creek.
Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka are pictured next to the winning pair of Scotty Scheffler and Rory McIlroy as handshakes and high fives are exchanged on the 16th green at Shadow Creek Golf Course.
What it proved was nothing short of rich: Scheffler and McIlroy each won $5 million in cryptocurrency, adding to Scheffler’s amazing year of just over $62 million and McIlroy each won. Scheffler in the Bahamas two weeks ago, McIlroy at the European Tour finals in Dubai last month.
Neither DeChambeau nor Koepka have competed since LIV Golf ended its season on Sept. 22.
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After 16 days of trying, Bryson DeChambeau scored an amazing hole-in-one on his 134th attempt.
“I would have liked another chance,” DeChambeau said. “It was a bit of a pillow fight for us.”
Could this help make the PGA Tour/LIV deal happen?
As the gap between the duel tours melts away, there is some belief that the rivalry in the Nevada desert could end up being the precursor to a full-on Ryder Cup-style game played out over an entire weekend.
“Ideally, I think the ultimate goal here is to restore the game of golf,” Scheffler said before the unprecedented collision of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf crossover.
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Scheffler says he’s not at all disappointed by the lack of progress on a deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
In August, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said he was encouraged by “expanded” talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, but cautioned that no deadline had been set for a deal.
The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF, financiers of the spin-off LIV Golf League, signed a framework agreement in June 2023 that will unite the respective tours and seek to bring more than $1 billion in Saudi investment to the game of golf.
Nearly a year after the original Dec. 31 deadline, the PGA Tour and PIF continue to negotiate a proposed agreement, and Monahan could not put a date on when the talks would be completed.
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Rory McIlroy believes US President-elect Donald Trump could help broker a deal to merge the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
And the lack of a timeline for a potential solution seems to have spurred players into action and creating something like The Showdown.
“It was really about us taking it into our own hands a little bit and doing something outside of the tour to not only give back to the fans, but to show them or at least let them know that we’re trying,” McIlroy said.
“The players want to play together more often. I feel like we’re all in this holding pattern because of the negotiations and the deal, and it’s not really good for anybody.”
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