of Skins games will return in 2025 It is held on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.
Chad Mumm, executive producer of Netflix's Full Swing, announced the news on Thursday. His new golf media company, Pro Shop, will work with the PGA Tour to produce the Skins Game, which was last held in 2008. The partnership also includes Propagate Content, a leading content studio that is about to release the new Owen Wilson Golf. Comedy series on Apple TV+.
Specific details such as who will be playing, what courses will be played and how much money is being wagered have not been disclosed.
So we had an idea.
First of all, what is a skin?
In this sense, each hole is assigned a monetary value, and the player with the lowest score receives the money for that hole. If two or more players tie on a particular hole, the total amount carries over to the next hole and its value is doubled.
It's all about money, but this format is unique and made for television. We'll mic up every player to hear their thoughts on the competition while they play, which can then be broadcast on the West Coast and seen in prime time on the East Coast.
But why the nomination for television?
The four major champions in 2025 should be the four golfers participating in the Skins Games.
Think about it.
The first version featured only four players each year, many of them familiar names like Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, and Arnold Palmer. Lee Trevino played many times and famously made a hole-in-one in 1987, perhaps the most iconic moment in the event's history. Tiger Woods also participated six times, ending in 2005, but never won. In fact, the most successful player at the Skins Games was Fred Couples, who won the event five times.
Imagine if we recreated The Skins Game this year.
We'll probably have three of the best players in the world in Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Bryson DeChambeau competing for the prize money next to each other. Scheffler, of course, won Augusta National, and Schauffele won the PGA Championship and British Open Championship. Meanwhile, DeChambeau defeated Rory McIlroy for second place at Pinehurst.
Speaking of McIlroy, he's the highest-ranked player in the world who didn't win a major in 2024, so under this theory he should slide in as the fourth player. So Scheffler, Schauffele, McIlroy and DeChambeau will be playing in the Skins game, which will no doubt garner a lot of intrigue.
The same goes for next week's The Showdown. There, LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka and DeChambeau will face PGA Tour heavyweights Scheffler and McIlroy. But the beauty of our scenario is that it puts aside the PGA and LIV disparity and focuses on the four main winners. The winner gets the invitation, regardless of tour, world ranking, or nationality.
In this hypothetical scenario, the last 10 Skins games are shown here, excluding 2020, as the British Open was canceled due to the pandemic. An asterisk next to a player's name indicates that the player held the highest Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) at the end of the Tour Championship, rather than a win. The asterisk only appears if another player has won two or more majors within a year.
2023: Brian Harman, Windham Clark, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm
2022: Cameron Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler
2021: Colin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Hideki Matsuyama
2019: Shane Lowry, Gary Woodland, Brooks Koepka, Tiger Woods
2018: Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose*
2017: Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia
2016: Jimmy Walker, Henrik Stenson, Dustin Johnson, Danny Willett
2015: Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy*
2014: Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott*
2013: Jason Dufner, Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Adam Scott
These hypothetical skin games would have made for great theater. Which was your favorite? I think 2021 is at the top of my list.
Still, pro shops and the PGA Tour need to take note. Give the major winners a little more visibility and a spot in the revitalized skins game at the end of the year.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
