As LIV Golf and the PGA Tour continue to try to hammer out a long-awaited merger, it’s fair to say tensions between each side’s players have died down just a bit.
Instead of going after each other in the media, four of golf’s biggest names — two on the PGA Tour and two belonging to LIV Golf — are facing off in an exhibition match on Tuesday.
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will do battle with Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, combining 13 major championships and personalities that have clashed in the past. Not only has McIlroy been heavily critical of those who joined LIV Golf, but DeChambeau and Koepka themselves butted heads in the past before reconciling.
Fans will finally get to see PGA Tour golfers face off with LIV Golfers outside of a major, and the action will go down at Las Vegas’ Shadow Creek Golf Club.
Here’s a look at the format for Tuesday’s LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour Showdown.
MORE: Complete guide to LIV vs. PGA Tour Showdown
LIV vs. PGA Tour Showdown format
The Showdown between the LIV Golf and PGA Tour pairs will 18 holes, which are broken down into three different stages.
The first six holes will be played as four-balls. In this style of play, each golfer uses their own ball to play the hole. However, only the teammate with the lower score counts. Whichever team has the lower score wins the round.
Holes No. 7-12 will be played in a foursomes format. Each team plays only one ball, with teammates alternating shots. The group will also switch who tees off the hole, with one player assigned the odd numbers and the other with the evens. The team with the lower score wins the hole.
The final six holes will feature two one-on-one matches between a player from each team. The matchups are not yet known.
The team that wins more of the three stages will win the event and earn a payment in the form of CRO Cryptocurrency.
MORE: How much prize money will LIV vs. PGA Tour Showdown winners make?
How many holes will they play in The Showdown?
The four players will play a standard 18 holes on Tuesday, but the holes will be broken into stages. Golfers will play a four-ball format for the first six holes, foursomes on holes No. 7-12 and singles matches on holes No. 13-18.
That means the scoring won’t break down the same way it would for 18 traditional holes, with emphasis instead being placed on winning each individual stage of play.
What is four-ball in golf?
Four-ball play, which will be how the first six holes are played, simply allows a team of two to take the lowest score from each round.
For example, Scheffler and McIlroy will each play their own ball on the first hole, but only the better score between the two will count. That means a major mistake by one of the two golfers wouldn’t cost the team, assuming the other player doesn’t similarly post a disappointing score.
Four-ball always involves four players, as the name indicates.
How does foursomes scoring work in golf?
The players will use the foursomes scoring format for holes No. 7-12. Rather than use two balls as they will during the four-ball portion, each team only uses one ball. The players on each team alternate shots.
If Scheffler takes the tee shot, for example, McIlroy will take the next shot, followed by Scheffler again. The two alternate shots until the ball is in the hole.
Team members typically alternate tee shots, with one taking the tee shots on even-numbered holes and the other taking the odd-numbered holes.
