Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau are ready to up the stakes of the “The Showdown,” an exhibition being staged Tuesday in Las Vegas between the LIV Golf pairing and PGA Tour powers Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
“All of us can align and bring something bigger and better so we can have a couple more times where they can — or just at least one more time — where we can see most of the best players from both sides competing, more against each other,” said Koepka, who bolted the PGA Tour for LIV’s inaugural season in 2022 for a contract worth more than $100 million through 2025.
Koepka said a competitive match next week “could transcend golf,” pointing to percolating discussions of progress in months-long merger talks between the PGA and LIV Golf.
Opportunities for LIV Golf players to directly compete with current PGA Tour members have been limited due to the existing pathway to qualification for golf’s majors. Koepka, a five-time major champion, and DeChambeau, who won the U.S. Open last year for the second time, have accumulated major titles but others without the benefit of World Golf Rankings points awarded to PGA Tour players face a qualifying process.
Next week’s match is being held at Shadow Creek Golf Course, the No. 1-ranked public-access golf course in Nevada and borrows from Ryder Cup formats. Singles matchups are unclear but the national TV broadcast will be a blending of 18 holes in three segments: best ball for six holes, alternate shot on the second six and singles matches for the duration of the match.
Koepka said a tweaked “Showdown” approach could feature an “LIV vs. PGA Tour, Ryder Cup-style thing.”
“This is … growing into a big thing and I think that’s what would draw the fans,” said Koepka.
DeChambeau’s popularity exploded the past two years with a YouTube channel golf fans of all ages are flocking to, but LIV Golf events are not the same attraction as Tour tournaments.
“I truly think you’ve got the biggest figure in golf in Bryson and then one of the (players with the) most majors. We’ve got a lot going on our side. We want to beat them, we want to showcase the world we’re the top two dogs,” Koepka said.
Scheffler and McIlroy, an original detractor of the competing LIV circuit, received PGA Tour waivers to participate in the event next week.
Adding context to his greater point, Koepka said only avid LIV and DeChambeau fans grasp how great he played last season.
World No. 1 Scheffler was 25-under at the Hero World Challenge showing no signs of rust or decline from a nine-win season, including the 2024 Masters, and a gold medal in London. But DeChambeau and Koepka were involved in only four of those tournaments.
“Scottie had a hell of a year. I think it’s arguably one of the best years the Tour has ever seen,” Koepka said Tuesday. “Bryson had a hell of a year — he played 10 times better than I did. I played with him enough to know what he could have done on the PGA Tour. We all have a good feel how we would have fared on any tour.
“I think he (Scheffler) would have won a lot of his golf tournaments (in a full field including LIV players). But I think we would have put up a good fight. It would have been interesting.”
–Field Level Media
