Top stars from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf are coming together … at least for one mid-December night in Las Vegas. The PGA Tour’s Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are set to take on LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in a made-for-TV match, according to Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch.
“I’m thrilled to partner with Scottie in what promises to be an exciting duel against Bryson and Brooks in Vegas this December,” McIlroy texted Lynch. “This isn’t just a contest between some of golf’s major champions; it’s an event designed to energize the fans. We’re all here to put on a great show and contribute to a goodwill event that brings the best together again.”
Las Vegas has been the site for many iterations of exhibition golf from The Netflix Cup this past fall, which saw PGA Tour players and F1 drivers join forces, to numerous editions of The Match, including one that featured Koepka beating DeChambeau as a means of squashing their own personal tussle. The Wynn Golf Club served as the venue for both of these matches, though the site for this unique exhibition has yet to be confirmed.
This match between top stars from both gol leagues comes at a time when the negotiations between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s financial backers, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, appear to be up in the air. PGA Tour commissioner and PGA Tour Enterprises CEO Jay Monahan insists conversations are proceeding; however, details have been scarce ever since the June 6 framework agreement to end litigation between the two leagues was announced 15 months ago.
“We’re continuing to focus on what we control, moving forward with the great system that we have in place,” Monahan said ahead of the Tour Championship. “As it relates to any details of the conversations that we’re having with the Public Investment Fund, I’m not going to disclose details. I’m not going to get into specifics.”
Not only do the two leagues have history, so do these four players. DeChambeau memorably got the better of McIlroy at this year’s U.S. Open to claim his second major championship. Meanwhile, Scheffler has teamed up with both DeChambeau and Koepka in various sessions across the last two Ryder Cups.
Koepka and DeChambeau had their own back-and-forth, which has since been squashed as both players transitioned to LIV Golf. Koepka passed McIlroy for the most major championships among active players under age 45 after winning his fifth at the 2023 PGA Championship.
SOURCE: CBSSPORTS.COM
Roger Adams , PGA Professional