Rory McIlroy reveals controversy with PGA Tour over The Showdown: "It wasn't all smooth sailing"

Rory McIlroy will compete in The Showdown at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas on December 17. The Northern Irishman and Scottie Scheffler will take on Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau in an event that is not sanctioned by either the PGA Tour or LIV Golf.

According to McIlroy, it took "several conversations" for the PGA Tour to see the made-for-TV golf show in a positive light.

"They’ve been very supportive. It took a few conversations to get them to the point where they saw this could be a good thing in the long run. It took a few conversations. It wasn’t all smooth sailing but we got there in the end," Rory McIlroy said (via Bunkered).

McIlroy was also adamant that The Showdown is a product designed with the fans in mind. This was part of what he said:

"I don’t know if it was to spur things with everything that went on, it was really about us taking this into our own hands a little bit and do something outside of either tour to not only give back to the fans, but to show them or at least let them know we’re trying."

Rory McIlroy has already completed his 2024 season by winning the DP World Tour Championship and his sixth Race to Dubai title.

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How will The Showdown be played?

The Showdown is designed as a television product. As such, it will not be a purely competitive event, and the format will reflect that.

The tournament will be played in three stages. The first six holes will be played in a four-ball (best ball) format, where both team members play their own ball and the best score on each hole counts as the team score. Each hole is worth one point to the winning team (half a point in case of a tie).

The next six holes will be played in a foursomes (alternate shot) format, with both team members alternating the same ball. One player tees off on the even-numbered holes and the other tees off on the odd-numbered holes. The best score on each hole is the team score, and each hole is worth one point to the winning team (half a point in the event of a tie).

The final six holes will be played in singles matches, although the pairings have not been announced at this time. As this is a match play event, there will not necessarily be 18 holes to play. It has also not been announced what would happen in the event of a tie.

The Showdown's similarity in format to the Ryder Cup is no coincidence. In fact, Brooks Koepka recently stated that the idea is for this event to evolve into a "Ryder Cup-like" tournament between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.