Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler already have partners for the televised event that will close the golfing year with a format intended to be dynamic and entertaining: the Optum Golf Channel Games.
The Northern Irishman will form a quartet with Shane Lowry, Haotong Li and Luke Donald, while the World Number One will team up with Sam Burns, Luke Clanton and Keegan Bradley. Two teams, five challenges, and the aim of offering top-quality golf in a show format. Bradley and Donald will face each other again after the Ryder, this time in a much friendlier format.
The event, designed for television and broadcast live in United States in prime time via Golf Channel and USA Network, will take place on 17 December at the Trump National Golf Club Jupiter, in South Florida.
The format combines speed, precision, and spectacle in five challenges:
- Timed Drive Competition: head-to-head duels on the tee with only two minutes on the clock to hit as many drives as possible into a scoring zone.
- Timed Short Game Competition: a mix of chipping and putting from different positions around the green, with three minutes to complete the entire course.
- 14-Club Challenge: two players per team face a precision challenge where they can only use each club in the bag once, including the putter. As a final touch, a mandatory left-handed shot.
- Timed Shootout: alternate fourball format against the clock over three holes, with each player positioned in a zone of the course. The winner is the one who signs the lowest score in the shortest time possible.
- Captain’s Challenge: the final face-off between McIlroy and Scheffler, with shots from different distances, bunker shots, chips, and putts from 30 and 10 feet.
The Optum Golf Channel Games aim to bring golf closer to a wider audience, combining television pace, competitive format, and the biggest stars of the moment. We shall see if it succeeds.
