The Showdown: Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler cruise past Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka to claim $10M crypto prize
By Matias Grez, CNN
(CNN) — PGA Tour golfers Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler earned a comfortable victory over LIV Golf duo Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in The Showdown, taking home $10 million in crypto currency for their troubles.
The contest, which began in 2018 as ‘The Match’ when Tiger Woods faced off against Phil Mickelson, this time pitted the pairs from the rival circuits against each other over 18 holes in Las Vegas.
The 18 holes were split into three sessions of six holes: four-ball, foursomes and singles.
It was a flying start for Scheffler and McIlroy, the world No. 1 and No. 3 respectively, who won the four-ball 3&2 after only four holes to take an early 1-0 lead.
The foursomes were more of a contest, with Scheffler and McIlroy earning the win on the 12th hole, but DeChambeau and Koepka now needed to win both singles matchups to take the competition to a playoff.
However, the third session was over on the 16th hole as the PGA pair cruised to a 3-0 victory.
McIlroy told the TNT broadcast after the dominant victory: “We’re super happy to get the win. It’s a nice way to finish the year.
“Scottie and I got off to a pretty good start and then from there it was just about trying to keep the momentum.”
“I don’t know a whole lot about crypto, but this is good enough motivation to do some research,” Scheffler joked as the duo received their prize.
In the end, the 2024 edition of The Showdown wasn’t much of a contest with DeChambeau conceding afterwards, “It felt like it was a pillow fight from us.”
Scheffler has enjoyed one of the most dominant seasons in golf history. The American won nine titles in 2024, including gold at the Paris Olympics, victory in the FedEx Cup and the second Masters title of his career.
In June, DeChambeau edged past McIlroy to win the US Open and claim his second career major.
TNT Sports (formerly known as Turner Sports and briefly as Warner Bros. Discovery Sports) is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which owns CNN.
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