McIlroy and Scheffler join hands to win The Showdown over LIV opponents

The PGA Tour got the best of LIV Golf during a high-stakes duel in the desert as Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Scottie Scheffler teamed to earn 2 1/2 points and win "The Showdown” over Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau on Tuesday in Las Vegas.Playing three different 2-on-2 competitions of six holes apiece, with the final 10 holes under temporary lights, the PGA Tour duo won the opening best-ball competition after just four holes and also came out on top during the alternate-shot competition over holes 7-12.In singles competition over the final six holes, Scheffler secured the decisive half-point by going up two holes on Koepka with two to play.With four total points available - two in singles play - 2 1/2 points were needed for the victory. The final McIlroy/DeChambeau match was not played to completion.As the rift thaws between the duelling tours, the competition at Shadow Creek Golf Club could end up being a precursor to a full-blown Ryder Cup-style match between the two tours played over an entire weekend.McIlroy’s hot start helped the PGA Tour team earn a point in the best-ball competition.McIlroy opened with birdies on medium-range putts to win the first two holes. He then clinched the point in the opening session with a 50-foot putt, while DeChambeau missed a short putt to tie. In the alternate-shot competition over the middle six holes, a DeChambeau missed putt gave McIlroy and Scheffler the ninth hole, and a McIlroy 4-footer at No 12 clinched the session for a 2-0 lead. The LIV Golf team did not win a hole until No 11.While DeChambeau struggled with his putter all day, it was a pair of stray drives at No 16 for both DeChambeau and Koepka that spelled doom. Scheffler, the No 1 player in the world, clinched the match with a birdie at 16, while Koepka missed a birdie putt to tie the singles match.McIlroy and Scheffler shared $10mn for the victory, with the sum paid in cryptocurrency.PGA drops Vegas from next year’s autumn scheduleThe PGA Tour announced its schedule of seven post-season tournaments for the fall of 2025 with no Las Vegas event on the calendar for the first time since 1983.The lineup is one fewer than this year and tees off with the Procore Championship in Napa, California, on September 11-14, two weeks after the 2025 Tour Championship.Absent from the schedule is the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas. After the Ryder Cup next September at Bethpage Black, the PGA Tour events resume with the Sanderson Farms Championship on October 2-5.