A permanent golf reunion may still seem a long way off, but some of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s biggest stars are moving ahead with their own plans for a head-to-head competition.
The PGA Tour’s Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, and LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, have already announced plans to battle it out in a televised event. Now, as Golfweek first reported, we have a name, a date and a location.
“The Showdown” – brought to you by some of the same people who created “The Match,” the ongoing celebrity golf series – takes place on Tuesday, December 17 at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. The match will air on TNT, likely in prime time on the East Coast.
“This isn’t just a match between some great golf champions; it is an event designed to energize the fans,” McIlroy said in a statement announcing the event. “We are all here to put on a great show and contribute to a goodwill event that brings the best back together.”
There is a lot of history between all these players. All four are multiple big winners, with Koepka’s five leading the way, followed by McIlroy’s four and Scheffler and DeChambeau’s two. Most recently, McIlroy and DeChambeau battled it out on the 72nd hole of the US Open. Koepka and DeChambeau engaged in a high-profile war of words before both left for LIV Golf. Scheffler has overshadowed the recent performances of the other three with his spectacular 2024.
Negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, LIV Golf’s financier, have not yet led to reunification, despite lofty promises made more than a year ago. If The Showdown is a success, it could push both sides to find common ground as fan interest in reuniting the game would be evident. Currently, most PGA Tour and LIV Golf players only cross paths during the four majors of the year, and then only if they are eligible to play in those events.
