7 reasons why The Showdown will be the best prime-time golf exhibition yet

For sports fans of a certain age and outlook, the glory days of exhibition golf are long gone. They peaked over Thanksgiving weekends in the 1980s, when Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Gary Player and other stars gathered for the Skins Game. Maybe it was the tenor of the times, so seemingly innocent in retrospect, but those televised confections felt like occasions, conducted in what was then a novel format, with a welcome mix of goofiness and gravitas. Though the mood was mostly light, there was money — and a measure of pride — on the line for legends who could still get the ball around. In the tautest moments, tensions flared.

But that was then.

When it comes to made-for-TV one-offs, it has been all downhill since, despite concerted efforts to stop the slide. In recent years, the game’s powers-that-be have tried all the tricks: trotting out celebrities, switching up formats, enlisting wisecracking announcers and more. Aside from a smattering of bright moments, (such as Tom Brady’s hole-out from the fairway in the second iteration of the Match, and the back-and-forth with Charles Barkley that followed), the result has been a medley of dispiriting snoozers, undone by — take your pick — poor play, painful banter and unseemly cash payouts that underscored the mercenary nature of it all. As much as anything, the sponsored get-togethers have given off an air of desperation: an empty cry for ratings from a niche sport.

That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news: Thanks to a confluence of factors, we are coming up on something that might finally fly. On Tuesday, at 6 p.m. EST, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will team up against Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau for 18 holes of match play at Shadow Creek, in Las Vegas. The action will be broadcast on TNT, TBS and TruTV, and streamed on MAX in the United States, with highlights available on Bleacher Report.

No, it’s not the Skins Game. But here are 7 reasons why this prime-time competition stands to be an upgrade on what we’ve seen before.

1. PGA Tour vs. LIV overlay

Ever since the split in men’s professional golf, fans and players alike have rightly lamented that the game’s best rarely get a chance to mix it up. While The Showdown is no substitute for a major, it gives us the kind of clash we crave, with stars representing rival circuits, in a contest that feels ripe with symbolic meaning. McIlroy and Scheffer, the two biggest names on the PGA Tour, against LIV A-listers DeChambeau and Koepka, both of whom won majors while flying the flag for the breakaway league. Call it a proxy battle in golf’s ongoing civil war. 

2. Bryson/Rory subplot

The last time the two men played the weekend in the same event, they co-authored a tale of tragedy and triumph, as McIlroy’s collapse at the U.S. Open gave way to DeChambeau’s final-hole heroics. Great golfers have short memories, but there’s no chance either player has forgotten that Sunday at Pinehurst. Even if it isn’t mentioned in their mic’ed-up conversations, it is bound to cross their minds during The Showdown. We bet you’ll be thinking about it, too.

3. Bryson/Brooks subplot

With their contrasting personalities and styles of play, DeChambeau and Koepka make an odd couple. And, in fact, they used to be at odds, in a bro-feud that spilled over into social-media spatting and taunting chants from fans. Though an attempt to capitalize on their bad blood fell flat when the two went head-to-head in a version of The Match, that’s all behind them now. Brooks and Bryson are now buds. Or at least allied in a shared purpose. As Hollywood proved with Batman vs. Superman, it’s good for the box office when enemies become friends.

4. Two words: Scottie Scheffler

Of course, any of the four stars on this marquee is capable of torching any course they play. But none of the others has been playing golf like Scheffler, still riding the high of an historic season, fresh off a win in his most recent start. The soft-spoken world No. 1 could make yet another statement with his sticks by turning The Showdown into The Scottie Scheffler Show. And if not, the footwork alone is worth a watch.

5. Ryder Cup format

Part of what makes the Ryder Cup compelling is the shifting dynamics as the format toggles between best-ball and alternate shot before moving on to individual play. In a savvy decision, the Showdown will apply that template in miniature, with six holes each of four ball, foursomes and singles matches. Adding to the intrigue is that those singles pairing have yet to be revealed.

6. Venue

Anytime green fees have a comma in them (in this case, $1,250!), the splurge is more than many of us can stomach. But Shadow Creek is a sight to behold, a waterfall-laden Tom Fazio design that doubles as a feat of engineering. And this is a chance to ogle it for free.

7. Broadcast team

PGA Tour loyalists who miss the likes the Bryson and Brooks from week to week might also long for the lilting strains of David Feherty, the popular commentator who jumped to LIV. Feherty is back for this event, on a broadcast team that represents both sides of the game’s divide (the voices of Ernie Johnson and Trevor Immelman will ring familiar for those who follow PGA Tour coverage). As a curiosity factor, Bubba Watson will be on-hand as an on-course reporter, and smack-talk king Charles Barkley will be in the booth as well. There may come a time when we get bored of the Round Mound of Rebound behind the mic, but that’s about as likely as him ever breaking par.