After romping through pro golf in 2024, Scottie Scheffler won one for his home tour Tuesday in Las Vegas.
The world No. 1 and recently crowned PGA Tour Player of the Year clinched the winning half-point for himself and Rory McIlroy, routing LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau in the Crypto.com Showdown at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.
The four played three types of match play: four-ball (best ball), alternate shot and singles, and Scheffler/McIlroy were undefeated in all three segments.
The duo opened with a 3 and 2 win in four-ball, clinched with an eagle by McIlroy, then won 1 up in alternate shot. Then in singles, needing just a half-point to clinch the Showdown, Scheffler two-putted for birdie at the par-5 16th hole while Koepka missed his birdie putt, ending the night under the lights.
Scheffler and McIlroy won $10 million in cryptocurrency.
“Under the lights was fun, it’s really challenging,” said Scheffler, who won seven official events this year on the PGA Tour plus an Olympic gold medal. “We kinda made a statement out the gates and kept it going from there.”
The Showdown was a statement in itself, with the four stars from the two rival tours meeting for the first time outside golf’s four majors. During a pre-tournament press conference, Bryson DeChambeau said he hoped the Showdown could grow into a full-scale Ryder Cup-like event next year.
All four players wore microphones but there was little side banter between the two teams (certainly nothing to rival a DeChambeau dagger at McIlroy from the day before), and the LIV golfers' frustration was evident as the chilly night went on. They didn’t make a birdie until the fifth of the six alternate shot holes when Koepka walked in a putt and muttered, “Welcome to the tournament,” while on the way to the next hole.
That birdie tied the alternate-shot match with one hole to go, but on the last hole DeChambeau left a long birdie putt well short and Koepka missed the subsequent 10-footer for par, while McIlroy holed a 4-footer for par to give his team a commanding 2–0 match lead going into singles.
While Scheffler secured the winning half-point in his singles match against Koepka, McIlroy played DeChambeau and was 1 up with two holes to play when the night was over.
“I’d love to have another opportunity,” DeChambeau said after. “It was kind of a pillow fight for us, we didn’t give [McIlroy and Scheffler] much to go for.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy Win Showdown Over Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau.
