On Monday, Golf Channel introduced the total rosters for its upcoming “Optum Golf Channel Video games,” a brand new rapid-fire golf competitors set to happen in primetime on Dec. 17. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler will every captain a workforce, and each of their rosters are stuffed out with some attention-grabbing characters.
McIlroy’s squad options his good buddy Shane Lowry, who holed the successful putt for the European workforce within the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September. Luke Donald, who captained that workforce to victory for a second straight time, will even be a part of McIlroy’s roster. Rounding out the foursome is China’s Haotong Li, who returned to prominence together with his spectacular T-4 end within the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July.
Scheffler’s roster has an analogous vibe, because it contains the American Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and fellow Ryder Cupper and shut pal Sam Burns. The ultimate spot belongs to Luke Clanton, the previous No. 1-ranked beginner on the planet who turned skilled in June.
The competitors will air beneath the lights on Golf Channel and USA Community eight days earlier than Christmas at Trump Nationwide Golf Membership in Jupiter, Fla., and it’ll characteristic numerous head-to-head challenges which are each time-based and strategy-focused. McIlroy and Scheffler will even face off 1-on-1 within the “Captains Problem,” the place they’re going to every hit from predetermined areas, together with iron pictures from quite a lot of distances in addition to wedge, pitch, bunker shot, greenside shot, 30-foot putt and 10-foot putt.
There might be three timed-based competitions, one a driving competitors, one a short-game competitors and one a “shootout,” which is able to pit all 4 gamers from each groups towards one another in a four-hole alternate-shot sport. One participant might be staged on the tee, one other within the fairway, and two gamers might be ready across the inexperienced. The workforce with one of the best rating on these 4 holes within the shortest period of time will win.
Maybe probably the most intriguing sport of all would be the 14-club problem, which might be two groups of two gamers from every workforce squaring off. They will every draw a membership from a single bag (together with driver and putter) in a closest-to-the-pin competitors from a delegated distance within the fairway. All 14 golf equipment are within the combine, seven pictures per participant per aspect, and when one membership is used, it’s out. Every workforce additionally will decide a participant to hit a lefty fifteenth shot.
Given the up-tempo nature of all of those competitions, and the very fact among the most-skilled gamers on the planet might be taking part, it ought to make for a entertaining watch in primetime. If something, it’ll function the proper appetizer for the 2026 PGA Tour season, which is able to start Jan. 15 in Hawaii.
