The Showdown 2024: Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler beat Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka | Golf News happymamay

Rory McIlroy and world number one Scottie Scheffler took the win 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 will compete against LIV golfers outside of major championships and the Olympics, as both DeChambeau and Koepka have been unable to appear on the PGA Tour since joining the Saudi-backed circuit. In 2022.

Scheffler and McIlroy never trailed and needed just 14 holes to clinch victory at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas.

With four total points available – two in singles play – two and a half points were needed for victory and the final McIlroy/DeChambeau match was not played until the end, with the sharpest duo on the PGA Tour taking the win 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 each for singles over the final six holes.

McIlroy came out firing and made the shot of the match with a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fourth hole with DeChambeau already close behind in two. But then DeChambeau missed his attempt for eagle and the PGA Tour team was on its way, winning in four holes.

“Rory has had a great start for our team,” Scheffler said.

The four rounds were close and it looked like the match might end in a tie until DeChambeau sent a long birdie putt on the final hole about 10 feet away, and Koepka bogeyed a comeback for a three-putt bogey that gave the PGA Tour the point lead it needed.

Scheffler and McIlroy never trailed at singles and the match ended on the 16th hole without spectators getting a chance to see the iconic third par on the 17th at Shadow Creek.

What this proved was nothing more than that the rich are getting richer. Schaeffler and McIlroy each won $5 million paid in cryptocurrency, adding to Schaeffler’s impressive year in which he won just over $62 million. Both Schaeffler and McIlroy were coming off wins – Schaeffler in the Bahamas two weeks ago, and McIlroy in the European Tour final round in Dubai last month.

Neither DeChambeau and Koepka have competed since LIV Golf ended its season on September 22.

“I would love to have another chance,” DeChambeau said. “It was like a pillow fight for us.”

Could this help seal the PGA Tour/LIV deal?

As the rift between the dueling rounds melts, there is some belief that the contest in the Nevada desert could eventually be the prelude to a full Ryder Cup-style match between the two rounds played over the course of the entire weekend.

“Ideally, I think the ultimate goal here is to put golf back together again,” Scheffler said ahead of the unprecedented showdown between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

In August, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said he was encouraged by “enhanced” negotiations with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, but warned that no deadline had been set for reaching an agreement.

The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Public Investment Fund, financiers of the separate LIV golf league, signed a framework agreement in June 2023 that will bring together the respective tours and seek to bring more than $1 billion in Saudi investment into golf.

Nearly a year after the original Dec. 31 deadline, the PGA Tour and PIF are still in negotiations over the proposed agreement, with Monahan unable to commit to a conclusion date for the negotiations.

The lack of a timeline for a potential resolution seems to have prompted players to act and prepare something like The Showdown.

“It was really about taking this into our own hands a little bit and doing something outside of the scope of either tour, not just to give back to the fans, but to show them or at least let them know that we’re trying,” McIlroy said. .

“Players want to play together more often. I feel like we’re all in this mode of waiting because of the negotiations and the agreement, and that’s not really good for anyone.”

Watch the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the best of women’s golf live on Sky Sports Golf. Stream with now.