Rory McIlroy wins MVP, and 9 other things we learned from Showdown

The long-awaited battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf – neither tour is directly related! —Finally arrived in Vegas on Tuesday night. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler take on Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in a game at Shadow Creek ), the match was promoted as showdown. Over the course of four hours, golf fans saw what they’ve grown accustomed to no See. This is LIV’s best result against the PGA Tour in a non-major arena. It was under the lights and the golfers had their mics on. it have Lives up to the hype, right?

Sort of like.

Here are 10 observations from Tuesday night in Vegas.

1. This format works!

It is well recognized how difficult it is to maintain audience interest throughout an 18-hole golf game. The Showdown found a way to do this by dividing the 18 holes into three six-hole tournaments, each with its own format. The first part is a four-ball match, the second part is a foursome mini-tournament (alternating strokes), and the last six holes are singles matches. Each match is worth one point, meaning there will be something to play for until (at least) the 15th hole, regardless of the outcome.

Ironically, this game really wasn’t close – keep scrolling for the results – but in many ways, it’s an argument for its construction. An uneven game this The four-hour format is still entertaining. Was the whole process fun? That’s a different story. But the results were not known until much later.

2. The best shot of the day doesn’t matter

When Bryson DeChambeau hit a pure 8-iron from 213 yards on the par-5 4th, it felt like a pivotal moment. he shouted at it draw draw draw – and it did, jumping and rolling to four feet on the front edge of the green. He and Brooks were two points behind in a four-goal game and they desperately needed it.

Rory and Scotty were both about 40 feet from the green. If Bryson can make the eagle putt, LIV will be back from a one-shot deficit and gain some momentum. Unfortunately for them, McIlroy hit his putt over the edge, up the hill and into the can, while also using a bit of a fist pump to match. What is the classic golf term? A Mongolian comeback, as we were reminded at this year’s Presidents Cup, became official when DeChambeau pulled his eagle putt left of the hole. Suddenly, PGA Tour stars won the third and second games of the opening event.

3. That’s right – Rory is here to play

From the first hole, it was clear that Rory had his best stuff and that his opponent was perhaps a little rusty. McIlroy dropped a dart onto the first green for birdie. He made another birdie on the second hole, putting the team ahead by 2 points. He and Scheffler won the first hole in alternating shots and held the lead until Brooks and Bryson finally won the first hole of the day on the 11th, their ninth.

“Welcome to the tournament,” Koepka said sarcastically as they reached the 12th tee. McIlroy won the match when he and Bryson three-putted for bogey on the 12th hole. And he did, sending a 4-footer into the center of the cup with ease. McIlroy birdied the first two holes of his singles match against Bryson to almost seal the victory. The showdown officially ended when Koepka missed a birdie putt on the 16th hole. (Let the screenshots below serve as a visual of how their night went.)

4. Greg Norman was also there. And that’s exactly what he wants

Outgoing LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman was placed behind the first tee at the start of the showdown, even though the match was played without any involvement from LIV or the PGA Tour carried out. I can’t help but think that a player-driven tournament that doesn’t directly benefit any golf tour is exactly what Norman would have loved to create when he began his player empowerment legacy in the 1990s.

5. Charles Barkley wants professional golf to merge soon

Barkley’s voice was once again the best part of televised golf, delivering rambling quips about anything that caught his attention. One topic he brought up several times was his desire for a merger between the two warring golf tours – which he hoped would be done yesterday. Buckley said he believed “something was going on behind the scenes that he didn’t agree with” that was putting LIV golfers at a disadvantage. Barkley didn’t elaborate on exactly what he meant, but he made it clear that he wants the best players on both sides to play together more often than we already do.

“I can say whatever I want,” Barkley said relentlessly. “I’m not worried about getting fired.”

But that’s the thing, Chuck. Most of us are nodding along with you.

6. Microphone golf still has issues

Producing games for television is complicated, largely because the current precedent is that players must hold microphones at all times. The audio source in the broadcast can be sent to the AirPods worn by the player on command, but is usually kept muted so that the player can focus properly.

The system is basically fine as long as you ask it to work. The first time Brian Anderson tried to communicate with Scheffler and McIlroy — as they walked off the first tee — neither player could hear the announcer. The microphone situation took several minutes to resolve, a reminder that these TV broadcasts are not yet perfect. DeChambeau even took off his AirPods on the back nine for undisclosed reasons, which only added to the choppy audio experience.

7. The desert is beautiful. And cold

The game was originally scheduled for September but was postponed to this week. This wouldn’t be a problem if the boys started playing at noon, but they start at 4pm local time. About 30 minutes after kick-off, the sun set, resulting in an incredible sunset but also a plummeting temperature. When players arrive on the back nine, the temperature feels like about 50 degrees. By the end, it was the mid-40s.

DeChambeau wore a parka from the first tee. Scheffler soon added a fleece vest with a hood. Golf carts are equipped with space heaters that blow hot air directly toward passengers. They have many uses!

As a result, Shadow Creek had a tough time playing. The green is as firm as can be, with shots landing close to the hole and into tricky lies beyond the green. Koepka and DeChambeau struggled to understand the speed of the greens throughout. There’s a lesson in this, folks. Firm golf is what we like!

8. We need more chatter

Since Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson officially started the genre in 2018, we’ve now witnessed nearly a dozen made-for-TV tournaments. That’s golf itself doesn’t matter all that is interesting. Instead, the funniest aspects come from the quips, insights and spontaneous banter of the world’s best golfers. We know it exists because we’ve seen it all season long in Tuesday afternoon money games.

However, despite Showdown being billed as a more intense matchup than past games, we received almost no banter between the opponents. Due to occasional delays in microphone access, we struggled to gain timely insights. The pent-up anxiety that has gripped the sport for three seasons would have been bearable if these athletes would just…slap each other off. CBS broadcaster Colt Knost echoed a very simple sentiment on Twitter: Let it go! Talk trash! explain… something.

10. Scotty doesn’t understand cryptocurrencies

Speaking of sponsors, we spent part of last week holding a virtual press conference with all four participants. Each session will ask a question: What is your involvement and/or understanding of cryptocurrency?? Koepka and DeChambeau both admitted to holding unconventional currencies, while Scheffler and McIlroy did not. Well, now they all Doing so, as the latter ended up with $10 million worth of cryptocurrency.

When asked later about how digital currencies would fit into his portfolio, Scheffler was as honest as you’d expect.

“I don’t know much about cryptocurrencies, but it was a good motivation to do some research,” he said with a laugh. “Maybe ask a few questions to find out what happened.”

undoubtedly! Congratulations to Scotty and Rory. And the PGA Tour… sort of.