PGA Tour, LIV Golf stars to meet for special event in Las Vegas

By Greg Robertson Las Vegas Review-Journal

4 months ago

Scottie Scheffler speaks after winning the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Clu ... — Scottie Scheffler speaks after winning the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, watches his ball on the eighth hole during the second round of the Tour Championship golf tournament, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Captain Brooks Koepka, of Smash GC, hits from the 15th tee during the second round of LIV Golf Greenbrier at The Old White at The Greenbrier, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. (Scott Taetsch/LIV Golf via AP)

The biggest stars on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will meet in Las Vegas in December in the latest iteration of The Match.

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will team up to face Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau in the made-for-TV event that will air on TNT.

Golfweek was first to report the news, which has not been confirmed by Warner Bros. Discovery.

The exact date and location of the event has not been revealed. Las Vegas has hosted four of the previous nine events, with three taking place at Wynn Golf Club and one taking place at Shadow Creek.

Representatives for all four players confirmed their participation to Golfweek.

PGA Tour officials had no comment on the report.

The players have 13 major championships between them. Scheffler is a two-time Masters champion while DeChambeau is a two-time U.S. Open winner. Both players won those events this year. Koepka won the latest of his five majors at the 2023 PGA Championship, while McIlroy has four titles but none since 2014.

McIlory, DeChambeau and Koepka have all participated in previous versions of The Match. The two LIV players — DeChambeau and Koepka — went head-to-head at Wynn Golf Club in 2021. This will be Scheffler’s first foray into the format.

Scheffler is coming off a record season that saw him win seven times — including the Masters, Players Championship and Tour Championship — as well as earn an Olympic gold medal. He has held the No. 1 spot in the world rankings for the past 102 weeks.

The event comes as the PGA Tour and LIV Golf continue to negotiate about a possible merger. A framework agreement was announced 15 months ago, but little progress has been made in completing the deal.

LIV Golf players are banned from playing in PGA Tour events, leaving the top players to meet only during the four major championships each year. Those events are run by separate organizations, allowing the LIV players to compete those weeks.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.