This is the one golf fans have been waiting for: LIV Golf vs. the PGA TOUR.

LIV's best against the TOUR's best.

The big showdown, first reported by Golfweek, will see reigning Fedex Cup, Masters and Olympic champion Scottie Scheffler team up with four-time major champion Rory McIlroy against 2024 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and five-time major winner (most recently the 2023 PGA Championship) Brooks Koepka. The 2-vs-2 contest, produced by the same company that has produced the first nine editions of "The Match," will take place in December at a yet-to-be-determined golf course in Las Vegas.

But is the timing right for such a LIV-PGA TOUR showdown with negotiations seemingly stalled for the past year? That's the question we wrestle with in this latest edition of Punch Shots, where GolfPass Managing Editor Jason Scott Deegan and GolfPass Senior Staff Writer Tim Gavrich share their (sometimes differing) opinions.

TIM GAVRICH: Jason, my head is officially spinning with all this posturing and kabuki theater between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. When it all started and the Saudi-backed league poached several top-ranked players, the Tour's argument against LIV was a moral and geopolitical one...until commissioner Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan went on TV together to make nice publicly on June 6, 2023.

Then there was momentum for a re-unification in the form of a year-end-2023 deal deadline that passed without any resolution. Most of a year later, the PGA Tour has somewhere between $1.5 and $3 billion of pending investment in hand courtesy of the Strategic Sports Group, and there is little indication that it and the Saudi Public Investment Fund are engaged in anything more than a cold war. Is Jay Monahan going to open the proceedings by asking "His Excellency" (Al-Rumayyan) to "tear down this wall," or is this just our generation's version of Bobby Fischer vs. Boris Spassky?

How are we supposed to take the announcement that each side is sending two of its best warriors into battle in the world capital of sports spectacles (and sports gambling)? From my seat, the prospect of a direct PGA Tour-vs.-LIV contest seems like a no-win situation for the former. If Scheffler and McIlroy prevail, at best it helps uphold the ongoing narrative of the Tour's stated supremacy. But if DeChambeau and Koepka win, it's another PR triumph that further legitimizes LIV and strengthens their bargaining position in any ongoing negotiations. I'm not sure a loss hurts LIV.

Either way, I'll probably watch. As someone who enjoyed Shell's Wonderful World of Golf back in its day, I think there's real potential for entertainment value in bringing a small, star-studded group together on a compelling golf course. The Match's first nine editions has been a mixed bag so far, but the executive producer told Golf Digest that this unique battle will be something of a new franchise featuring Ryder Cup-style competitions, which could mean alternate shot, best ball and even singles. If it is held at Shadow Creek, if pace of play is not egregiously slow, it it's not too fussy a format and if it doesn't conflict with a UConn basketball game, count me in.

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Knowing TNT is involved, here's hoping Charles Barkley will once again be front-and-center on the broadcast. In fact, separate from whatever millions of dollars (hopefully for charity) the two sides will play for, the most exciting possible stakes would be for the losing team to have to go on vacation in Chuck's least-favorite Texas city: Galveston.

JASON SCOTT DEEGAN: Tim, I don't see any losers with this announcement. It's the grudge match that golf fans have been waiting for since the split. Even if it might be a couple of years too late, it's still sure to stir up some more LIV-PGA Tour banter on social media and catch millions of eyeballs.

To be honest, this has me more excited than the majors. Sometimes, the majors feature great leaderboards, but you don't always see the mega-stars paired together and battling one another for victory. It did happen, ironically, at Pinehurst for the U.S. Open when DeChambeau hit a bunker shot for the ages, besting McIlroy on the final hole.

This format guarantees that golf fans will get what the Tour's new signature events haven't been able to deliver so far: high drama for television to decide a champion.

I actually think that the PGA Tour's stars are the underdog here. Rory hasn't played well since his stunning collapse at Pinehurst and Scheffler has a new baby at home to distract him. I think the bad blood between the two organizations has mostly fizzled out - at least from the players - so the motivation to "crush" the so-called bad guys isn't there. It's also kind of funny that joining LIV has somehow cured Koepka's and DeChambeau's differences, considering their very public feud was just a few short years ago. They've got nothing to lose (as you said) and should play loose and free.

We at GolfPass always root for Rory, but no matter who wins, it's the golf fan who can claim the ultimate victory. We get the golf brawl we've been craving to see. Even without the stakes of a major championship or a Ryder Cup, it's the kind of high-level golf competition the game needs more of on a regular basis.

Will you tune in to watch this match? Let us know why or why not in the comments below.