Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler have formally designated the four-man squads for their upcoming golf exhibition, identified as the Golf Channel Games, scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 17 at Trump National Golf Club Jupiter in South Florida. Each team will showcase a close companion to the recognized captain, a well-known presence from Bethpage Black and a somewhat unforeseen selection.
McIlroy’s team encompasses Shane Lowry, Haotong Li and European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald. Scheffler will display a lineup that includes Sam Burns, Luke Clanton and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley.
There will be five formats that competitors will be challenged to navigate at Trump National Jupiter. The initial format is a timed drive competition where players compete in direct opposition with two minutes allowed, launching drives onto a scoring grid.
In the short-game competition (chipping and putting), players will vie individually and chip the ball within a specified distance of the pin and successfully complete a specific number of feet of putts all within the three minutes allotted on the clock.
Subsequently, players will compete in a 14-club challenge with two competitors matching up. The pairs of two will extract clubs from the same golf bag and execute shots from predetermined distances in the fairway during a closest-to-the-pin contest. Once a club is utilized, it is removed, indicating each player will execute seven unique shots with all 14 clubs used.
All eight players in the competition will contend across four direct matchups.
Team strategy will factor into the subsequent format, as a timed shootout showcases four-player alternate shot across three holes. Teammates will be stationed in defined positions — one on the tee, one in the fairway, two on and around the greens — and whichever side concludes with the superior score in the shortest duration prevails.
Ultimately, McIlroy and Scheffler will engage head-to-head in a captain’s challenge. Each player will execute shots from varied distances, a bunker, greenside and putts of 30 feet and 10 feet. Whoever possesses the lowest cumulative distance from the hole for the shots will emerge victorious.
