Dec 18,2024
The PGA Tour got the best of LIV Golf during a high-stakes duel in the desert as Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler teamed up to earn 2.5 points and win 'The Showdown' over Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Playing three different two-on-two competitions of six holes apiece, with the final ten holes under temporary lights, the PGA Tour duo won the opening best-ball competition after just four holes and also came out on top duringt he alternate-shot competition over holes 7-12.
In singles competition over the final six holes, Scheffler secured the decisive half-point by going up two holes on Koepka with two to play. The final McIlroy/DeChambeau match was not played to completion.
As the rift thaws between the dueling tours, the competition at Shadow CreekGolf Club could end up being a precursor to a full-blown Ryder Cup-style match between the two tours played over an entire weekend.
McIlroy's hot start helped the PGA Tour team earn a point in the best-ball competition. McIlroy opened with birdies on medium-range putts to win thefirst two holes. He then clinched the point in the opening session with a 50-foot putt, while DeChambeau missed a short putt to tie.
In the alternate-shot competition over the middle six holes, a DeChambeau missed putt gave McIlroy and Scheffler the ninth hole, and a McIlroy four-footer at 12 clinched the session for a 2-0 lead. The LIV Golf team did not win ahole until the 11th.
While DeChambeau struggled with his putter all day, it was a pair of stray drives at 16 for both DeChambeau and Koepka that spelled doom. Scheffler, the world No 1, clinched the match with a birdie at 16, while Koepka missed a birdie putt to tie the singles match.
McIlroy and Scheffler shared $10million for the victory, with the sum paid in cryptocurrency.
