Rory McIlroy has admitted he and Scottie Scheffler had to fight to convince the PGA Tour to back next week’s clash with LIV Golf stars Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
McIlroy and Scheffler – the PGA Tour’s most prized assets – will go head-to-head DeChambeau and Koepka, two of the most high-profile defectors from the Saudi-backed tour, in Las Vegas on December 17.
‘The Crypto.com Showdown’, featuring a $10 million cryptocurrency prize pool, is being billed as an unofficial LIV versus PGA Tour clash.
Talks about a possible end to golf’s civil war have continued since the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced a ‘framework agreement’ in June 2023.
On Tuesday, McIlroy was asked how the PGA Tour responded to the idea. The Northern Irishman, who has previously been one of LIV’s most outspoken critics, insists he has been ‘very supportive’.
But McIlroy admitted: “MeIt took a few conversations to get them to see that this could be a good thing in the long run.
Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler take on Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka
DeChambeau and Koepka are two of LIV Golf’s most high-profile defectors
The event, on December 17 in Las Vegas, will be called the Crypto.com Showdown
He added: “It took a few conversations. It wasn’t all plain sailing, but we got there in the end.’
Before the match, Koepka and DeChambeau teased a possible Ryder Cup-style showdown between the PGA Tour’s best and LIV Golf.
However, Scheffler emphasized that the “end goal” is to “bring golf back together,” rather than pitting the two factions against each other.
“For us as players, I think we would all like to see everyone together again,” the world number 1 said.
‘What I like most about golf is the competition. And there’s so much talk these days about LIV versus PGA and money. I think most of us just want to get back into competition… the end goal here is to get the game of golf back on track.”
Scheffler added, “After Brooks and Bryson left, we only get to compete with them four times a year. I want to compete against the best players in the world and wherever those players compete, I think that’s where we all want to be. are. I think ideally you would get that twenty weeks a year, and not four.’