PGA Tour and LIV Golf match update discredits Rory McIlroy's hopes for event

Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka are all set to capitlize financially when the four stars face off in a matchplay contest in Las Vegas later this year.

Dubbed 'The Showdown', PGA Tour duo McIlroy and Scheffler will join forces to take on DeChambeau and Koepka from LIV Golf. Four of the best players on the planet will do battle on Dec. 17, with the event taking place at Shadow Creek in Sin City, with TNT in charge of the broadcast.

The talks of money has dominated men's professional golf over the past two years, with a financial arms race breaking out between the PGA Tour and LIV following the latter's formation in June 2022.

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And while there will be no prize money on offer to the winning pair in Vegas this winter, Sports Illustrated has reported that all four players will still receive an appearance fee for competing. The update comes after it was previously hoped by McIlroy that the match would give fans the chance to focus on something away from the constant chatter of pay checks within the sport.

"You've got the best player in the world," he said at the Irish Open last month. "You've got two guys in Bryson and Brooks that have won majors in the last two years. You've got me in there who—I haven't done what those guys have done the last couple years but I've definitely been I feel one of the best players in the world.

“It's a way to show golf fans in the world that this is what could happen or these are the possibilities going forward. I've been saying this for a long time. I think golf and golf fans get to see us together more than four times a year. I think that's what we've tried to do. It's in the middle of December.

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"There's not a lot going on in the game of golf. So trying to get people excited about something before the season starts again. I think we all thought it was a good idea and something that hopefully is a sign of things to come in the future.”

News on the 'The Showdown' came as negotiations between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) continued. The hope is that a peace deal will be put into place to end the split between the Tour and the LIV setup, and last week's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship gave fans a taste of what the future may look like.

With McIlroy and Koepka in the field, the two men at the centre of the talks in PGA Tour comissioner Jay Monahan and LIV chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, were also in action in the amateur side of the tournament. In round one in Scotland last week, the two negotiators were paired together and were all smiles as they competed around Carnoustie in a clear sign of improved relations.