Scottie SchefflerKevin C. Cox/Getty Photographs
This yr has introduced a number of intriguing storylines to the world of golf, however the divide between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has been one of many largest. Gamers from the 2 rival leagues have typically been at odds, and solely often on the identical course.
Nevertheless, Tuesday’s Crypto.com Showdown will carry 4 of the world’s greatest golfers collectively for a recreation that may bridge the hole between the PGA and LIV.
PGA stars Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler will face off towards LIV’s Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in an 18-hole battle for an enormous prize.
Based on Crypto.com, the winners will obtain a “multimillion greenback purse to be paid in CRO cryptocurrency.”
The Showdown should not really feel too completely different from TNT Sports activities’ The Match for followers watching at residence—Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley will even be on the decision. However will probably be an all-new, dwell occasion meant to ship top-tier golf motion to the followers.
“The Showdown has been about innovation from the start and our dedication to delivering the most effective leisure potential for the followers by uniting our sport,” DeChambeau stated, per Crypto.com.
It must be a incredible competitors, however one golfer seems poised to provide his workforce a big edge.
TNT Sports activities U.S. PR @TNTSportsUS
🚨 TNT Sports activities to solely current “The https://t.co/ZdNgoALMep Showdown” on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 6 pm ET throughout TNT, TBS, truTV & @SportsonMax
⛳️Main winners @McIlroyRory, Scottie Scheffler, @brysondech & @BKoepka in new, premier dwell golf competitors: https://t.co/97mqsj1MRR pic.twitter.com/3u0TA3rRFG
The Crypto.com Showdown
Who: Scheffler and McIlroy vs. DeChambeau and Koepka
When: Tuesday, December 17
The place: MGM Resorts’ Shadow Creek golf course in Las Vegas
When: 6 p.m. ET
TV and Reside Stream: TNT and Max
It could appear a cliche to counsel this could possibly be anybody’s recreation, however it will be correct. All 4 opponents are elite golfers who’ve main wins on their resume.
DeChambeau has received the U.S. Open twice, most just lately defeating McIlroy to say the 2024 title. Koepka has additionally received the U.S. Open twice and the PGA Championship 3 times, most just lately in 2023.
Koepka’s 2023 victory made him the primary golfer to win a significant as a member of LIV.
McIlroy hasn’t received a significant since 2014, however he has two U.S. Open victories, a PGA Championship and a British Open on his resume. Scheffler, the most popular golfer on this planet proper now, received The Masters in 2022 and 2024.
Getting into, it is onerous to not consider Scheffler’s star will shine brightest in The Showdown.
Shadow Creek options comparatively slender fairways on most holes, making driving accuracy extra vital than uncooked energy. The course may also place an emphasis on strategy pictures, as Edoardo Molinari of Golf Digest just lately defined:
“There are numerous tee pictures the place you might be both compelled to put as much as a sure quantity or the place the golf green will get very slender previous 320 yards. As such, there are extra pictures than normal from 175 to 225 yards, and a participant can separate himself due to how the greens are formed and framed by hassle.”
Scheffler, who leads the PGA in strokes gained by strategy this yr, ought to navigate Shadow Creek’s challenges nicely. There are a number of holes on which DeChambeau, who leads LIV in drive distance, ought to have a bonus, however they’re few and much between.
“There are solely three holes (Nos. 6, 14, 18) the place it really pays to be aggressive off the tee,” Molinari wrote.
This is not to say Scheffler will end with the day’s greatest spherical, however his precision and consistency will probably be big property on this course.
The workforce format might even issues fairly a bit, although. The 18-hole contest will probably be damaged down into three six-hole sections. The primary will function a best-ball format, whereas the second will function alternating-shot workforce play. The ultimate six holes will probably be singles play.
Scheffler’s edge will probably be most obvious in the course of the closing stage, which is barely a portion of the general competitors. He might additionally shine within the first stage, although the best-ball format will permit DeChambeau and Koepka to gamble a bit with longer drives and extra aggressive pictures.
McIlroy hasn’t been notably constant this yr, however he is nonetheless the third-ranked golfer on this planet and might get scorching on any given day.
In different phrases, followers have loads of causes to tune in and see how The Showdown unfolds.
