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Rory McIlroy, the co-founder of GolfPass, will captain a four-man team against Scottie Scheffler in the Golf Channel Games, a new off-season event set for Dec. 17 at Trump National Golf Club Jupiter.
The Golf Channel Games will be broadcast live in prime time on Golf Channel and USA Network, two channels within Versant, the new media company being created by Comcast Corporation. (Full disclosure: GolfPass is part of Versant.)
The world's top two-ranked players will lead their teams in multiple challenges that will be timed under the pressure of the clock and the lights:
Timed Drive, Chip, & Putt – Players will compete individually in the three disciplines – driving a total number of yards, chipping within a certain proximity to the pin and holing a certain number of feet of putts – as quickly as possible.
14-Club Challenge – Two Players, One Bag – One player from each team will start off the 14-Club Challenge by drawing a club from a single bag for a closest-to-the-pin competition from a designated distance in the fairway. Each player will hit seven shots total during the competition, but the catch is, once a club is used, it’s ineligible to be used again. All eight players will participate in four separate matches.
Timed Shootout – A four-player alternate shot on three different holes requires teammates to be set up on different parts of the hole in order to get the ball in the cup as quickly as possible. The player on the tee will drive the ball toward a player in the fairway, who then hits a shot at the green, where two players are waiting to get the ball in the cup. The end goal is to record the best score in the shortest amount of time.
Captains’ Challenge – Rory vs. Scottie – Each player will hit from predetermined locations, including a 100-yard wedge, 50-yard pitch, bunker shot, greenside shot, 50-foot putt and 10-foot putt. The lowest total distance from the hole for the combined shots wins.
Additional details - including the remaining players and TV schedule - will be released in the coming weeks.
“Our goal at VERSANT is to drive innovation from the strengths of our businesses,” said Tom Knapp, EVP Golf & General Manager, Golf Channel, in a statement. “With that in mind, we wanted to create a new golf event that was highly competitive, showcasing the best players in the world hitting specific shots and plotting strategy with a running clock. To have the opportunity to create an annual, end-of-season golf event which includes Rory & Scottie at one of South Florida’s premier golf clubs, has been a treat. It should be fun.”
The competition features some elements from the old Golf Skills Challenge that was held under various sponsors from 1992 to 2012. With the popularity of TNT's The Match and golf as a whole, the timing seems right to bring a modern version of that skills challenge back with a few modern twists. The format should be competitive but also casual enough that the personalities of the players will shine through for the fans watching at home. You can expect some great shots and some blunders, too.
Hosting it in Jupiter is a natural fit, given how many players live in south Florida. The second season of TGL, the indoor golf league started by McIlroy and Tiger Woods at the SoFi Center in nearby Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., kicks off Dec. 28 shortly after the Golf Channel Games.
Are you excited to watch the Golf Channel Games? Let us know your reaction in the comments below.
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