Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy dominated the showdown, easily defeating LIV Golf superstars Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
In addition to winning some bragging rights, Scheffler and McIlroy received $10 million in cryptocurrency as prize money, prompting the reigning Masters champion to share a funny anecdote after the round.
“I don't know much about cryptocurrencies, but this is a good motivation to do some research,” Scheffler said during the trophy presentation.
Other than that cheeky comment, not much happened in the match itself. The viral moment only happened once, but of course, it involved DeChambeau and his wardrobe. But ultimately, the first edition of The Showdown proved to be disappointing. It was in stark contrast to the high expectations fans had before this event.
There are four reasons why I was disappointed.
4. Golf course
Yes, there isn't a single piece of grass out of place at Shadow Creek. Yes, there are great views and great views of the mountains. Sure, the course is in perfect condition, but it shouldn't host a high-stakes match between four of the best players on the planet.
Too many holes lacked strategy and too many holes were similar to each other. There were no holes that stood out to me, except perhaps the par-5 fourth hole, and the match was pretty much over there. McIlroy made a 40-foot eagle there, but DeChambeau missed the tying tap-in, a sign of things to come. But even that long left dogleg, with water to its left and in front of the green, never quite sticks out at the forefront of the viewer's mind. Every hole at Shadow Creek appears to have a built-in water hazard, or stream flowing down one side of the fairway. At least the greens were hard, which created a difficult situation. But this showdown was frankly boring, and the golf course played a big role in that.
3. Weather/Time
Weather certainly played a role in these games, with each player losing about five yards on each carry due to the chilly Las Vegas night air. By the end of the competition, temperatures had dropped to the low 50s, which the athletes did not enjoy for various reasons.
It's no wonder why DeChambeau was wearing an oversized coat during the exhibition's most talked-about match. DeChambeau even carried hand warmers, proving the reigning U.S. Open champion isn't afraid of the cold. McIlroy and Scheffler also didn't because their heaters were blowing inside their carts.
This begs the question, why did the organizers hold this event on a Las Vegas night in December? We all know that the desert gets cold when it gets dark, especially at this time of year. Network executives want prime-time viewing, and nowhere else offers more entertainment options than Las Vegas. However, this event could have been held elsewhere, such as in Hawaii. Imagine if a course in Maui played host and this quartet teed off at 1pm local time. This would be at 6:00 PM ET when this event originally started. Add to that the long shadows of December, and the first hour or so was tough for viewers as no one knew which shots were going where.
2. Lack of competition
The moment McIlroy and Scheffler swept the first two holes, I had a feeling it was going to be a long night for the LIV golfers. The PGA Tour stars closed out the match in 16 holes, dominating four balls and singles for an easy win. McIlroy and Scheffler combined to win 10 holes, while Koepka and DeChambeau only won three holes.
This result can be attributed to the form. Scheffler won the Hero World Challenge in less than 10 days, beating an elite field from the Bahamas by six strokes. Meanwhile, McIlroy won the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai last month, capping off a turbulent but successful year.
Meanwhile, DeChambeau last competed at the LIV Golf Team Championship in September and has been spending his time creating YouTube content ever since. That's not to blame him. That's the reality. YouTube Golf is very different from tournament play, and DeChambeau's poor form showed that.
Koepka's most recent professional debut was at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October. He was tied for 10th that week, but his play on Tuesday was far from his best in Scotland. LIV Golf's star players wowed golf fans around the world with their powerful efforts on the greens and in their approach plays.
1. Zero Trash Talk
McIlroy, who fell one stroke behind DeChambeau at the US Open, spoke at the practice range on Monday about why he wanted to win the showdown so badly.
“I want him to give me back what he did to me at the U.S. Open,” McIlroy said.
it led DeChambeau responds with the best diss of all time:
“To be fair, you did it to yourself,” DeChambeau said.
The mark left McIlroy speechless, and everyone in attendance gasped and laughed in disbelief.
After a few seconds of muttering and laughing, all McIlroy could say was, “I really don't know where to go from there.” And who can blame him? He had one of the most heartbreaking finishes in U.S. Open history, and unfortunately he had to relive that horrible finish.
Still, it was DeChambeau who missed a number of short putts during Tuesday's competition. But given what happened the day before, fans expected to see and hear a lot of trash talk between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf stars. That wasn't the case after all. Instead, no barbs were exchanged between any of the players, even though all four had AirPods in their ears and were connected to the broadcast.
In the second half of the game, DeChambeau removed his AirPods even though he was facing an overwhelming disadvantage. This showed that he had listened to Charles Berkeley. But other than that, the broadcast and entertainment value proved to be a major disappointment.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
