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

The long-awaited PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf battle — no tour was directly associated with it! – finally arrived on Tuesday night in Vegas. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler face Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka at Shadow Creek in a match called. The Showdown. And within four hours, golf fans saw something they’ve grown accustomed to not to see. It was the best of LIV compared to the PGA Tour which is very good in a not so big area. It was under the lights and the golfers were standing. It it was necessary living up to the hype, right?

Kind of.

Here are 10 highlights we took away from Tuesday night in Vegas.

1. This format worked!

Much has been made of how difficult it is to maintain spectator interest throughout an 18-hole round of golf. Showdown found a way to do it, breaking the 18 holes into three 6-hole games, each with its own format. The first part focused on fourball, the second foursomes mini-match (different shots) and the last six holes were singles matches. Each of those games was worth one point, meaning that no matter what the outcome, there will be play until (at least) the 15th hole.

Ironically, the game wasn’t really close – keep scrolling for the result – but in many ways that’s an argument for its plot. An unclosed match between this the format was still interesting for four hours. Was it all fun? That’s a different story. But the result was not in hand until late.

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

It felt like a pivotal moment when Bryson DeChambeau drilled an 8-iron from 213 yards on the par-5 4th hole. He shouted it draw and draw and draw – and it does, binding to the front edge of the green and going out to four feet. He and Brooks were 2 down in the fourball session, and they needed it badly.

Rory and Scottie were both about 40 feet short of the green. If Bryson can make his eagle putt, Team LIV will go back to 1 down and ride the momentum. Unfortunately for them, McIlroy chipped his putt, rolled up the hill and into the pot, adding a little fist pump to go with it. The old golf term for this? Mongolia’s conversion, as recalled in this year’s President’s Cup, became official when DeChambeau pulled his eagle to the left of the hole. Suddenly, the PGA Tour stars had won the opening session 3 and 2.

3. That’s right — Rory came to play

From the 1st hole, it was clear that Rory had some of his best shots, and his opponents might have been a little rusty. McIlroy hit a tee shot on the first green and made birdie. He added another birdie on the 2nd hole, pushing his team 2 up. He and Scheffler won the first tee shot and held that lead until Brooks and Bryson finally won their first hole of the day on 11 (their ninth hole).

“Welcome to the tournament,” Koepka said sarcastically as they reached the 12th tournament. When he and Bryson bogeyed the 12th, it was up to McIlroy to win the session. He did just that, making his 4 foot easy in the middle of the cup. McIlroy stayed hot, birdieing the first two holes of his singles match against Bryson, and nearly winning the match at that point. The Showdown officially ended when Koepka birdied the 16th hole. (Let the following screenshot serve as a visual of how their night went.)

4. Greg Norman was there. And this is exactly what he wanted

Greg Norman, the outgoing CEO of LIV Golf, was sent behind the first box when the Showdown began, even if this event was held without the involvement of LIV, or on the PGA Tour. I couldn’t help but think that a player-driven game that doesn’t directly benefit any golf outing is exactly what Norman would have been happy to create in the 1990s when he began his player empowerment saga.

5. Charles Barkley wants pro golf integration ASAP

Barkley’s voice is also the best part of the made-for-TV golf game, with funny jokes about anything that catches his attention. One such topic that has been brought up many times is that you want to merge between two competing golf trips – and you want it done yesterday. Barkley said he thinks there are “things going on behind the scenes” that he doesn’t agree with, leaving LIV golfers at a disadvantage. Without explaining exactly what he meant, Barkley made it clear that he wants the best players on both sides to play together more often than we have now.

“I can say whatever I want to say,” Barkley said, pulling no punches. “I’m not worried about being fired.”

But that’s it, Chuck. Many of us are nodding along with you.

6. Mic’d up golf still has glitches

Games made for television are complicated, especially because of the precedent set for players to be microphoned at all times. The audio feed from the broadcast can be sent on command to the AirPods worn by the players, but it is usually kept quiet so that the players can focus properly.

This program is great, as long as it works when you ask for it. The first time Brian Anderson tried to communicate with Scheffler and McIlroy – as they walked off the 1st tee – neither player could hear the announcer. It took minutes before the microphone situation was sorted out, a reminder that these television shows are not perfect. DeChambeau even removed his AirPods in the back nine, for undisclosed reasons, just icing on the cake for the hot sound.

7. The desert is beautiful. And it’s cold

The game was supposed to be played in September, but was postponed this week. This wouldn’t be a problem if the boys were setting it up during the day, but they start at 4pm local time. The sun set about 30 minutes after it cooled, providing a spectacular sunset but also dropping the temperature. The players arrived after nine, the feeling temperature was about 50 degrees. Finally, it was the mid-40s.

DeChambeau rocked the park from the 1st tee on. Scheffler soon added a hooded wool vest. Golf carts were equipped with space heaters that pushed warm air directly onto their passengers. They get a lot of use!

As a result, Shadow Creek played hard. The green was as tight as it could be, sending the shot near the hole to a tricky lie beyond the green. Koepka and DeChambeau struggled to find a sense of speed on the green throughout. There is a lesson in that folks. Hard golf is what we love!

8. We needed more CHATTER

We’ve now seen nearly a dozen made-for-TV tournaments since Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson started the genre in earnest in 2018. If we’ve learned anything in the past six years, it’s that golf alone isn’t true. all of that is fun. Instead, the most entertaining aspects come from the witticisms, details and natural banter from the world’s best golfers. We know it’s there because we see it all season long on Tuesday afternoon cash games.

And yet, despite Showdown being billed as a more aggressive competition than the classic games, we didn’t find anything spiky between the rivals. And due to occasional delays in microphone access, we struggled to get information in time. Three seasons of angst that has enveloped the sport was there for the taking if these athletes were to just … yell at each other a little. CBS anchor Colt Knost took to Twitter with a very simple take: Free this thing! Talk about trash! It says… something.

10. Scottie doesn’t know crypto

Speaking of sponsors, we spent half of last week in virtual press conferences with all four participants. One question for each: What is your involvement and/or understanding of cryptocurrency? Both Koepka and DeChambeau admitted to having stakes in non-traditional currencies, while Scheffler and McIlroy did not. Well, now they everything it did, because the latter team ended up taking their share of the $10 million cryptocurrency.

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

“I don’t know much about crypto but this is a good motivation to do research,” he said with a laugh. “Maybe ask a few questions to find out what’s going on.”

Undoubtedly! Congratulations to Scottie and Rory. And on the PGA Tour … sort of.