Following a two-month hiatus due to the coronavirus outbreak, competitive golf is back with a charity event featuring PGA Tour stars Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson against Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff in the TaylorMade Driving Relief skins competition. The event takes place Sunday, May 17, from 2-6 p.m. ET at the Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida. All proceeds from the event will support charities of a team’s choosing for COVID-19 relief efforts.
While there is no prize money for the competitors, there are wagering opportunities at BookMaker.eu for which team wins the most skins. With two of the top-5 players in the world on the same team, McIlroy and Johnson are favored to collect the most hole wins. Head to BookMaker.eu to place your wager and catch all the action on NBC and Golf Channel.
Dustin Johnson / Rory McIlroy -196
Matthew Wolff / Rickie Fowler +155
The Players
It’s easy to see why the team of McIlroy and Johnson is favored. Rory is a two-time FedExCup champion and currently ranked No. 1 in the world. He has 18 PGA Tour victories and another nine worldwide titles. Included among his wins are four major championships and last year’s PLAYERS Championship. Meanwhile, DJ has a whopping 20 PGA Tour titles to his credit and is ranked No. 5.
While they were never teammates in college, Fowler and Wolff both starred at powerhouse Oklahoma State. Fowler has five PGA Tour victories and nine professional wins on his resume. Wolff won the NCAA individual championship in 2019 and earned his first PGA Tour win with an eagle on the 72nd hole to edge Bryson DeChambeau by one shot at the 3M Open last July. Wolff joined Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to win the NCAA individual title and a PGA Tour event in the same year.
The Format
Challenge matches are nothing new in the game of golf. According to some historians they can be traced back to the 1840s. And considering the virus-stricken world we are in today, it seemed only natural that golf, with its inherent physical distancing, would be the game starting a sports revival in the States.
Golfers will play a standard four-ball challenge with each player striking his own ball and the teams counting the lowest score. Additionally, there are no gimmes. All putts for birdies or better must be holed even if the stroke doesn’t impact the team score.
Both teams will start with $500,000 in the bank for their respective charity. Once the challenge begins the hole values will increase as the match continues, adding up to an additional $2 million. The first six holes are worth $50,000 while Nos. 7-16 will be worth $100,000. The 17th hole is worth 200K with 500K on the line at No. 18. If a hole is tied the money value carries over.
If the teams tie on the final hole and play ends before 5:45 p.m. ET, the players get another shot on the 17th hole. Should the hole remain tied, a closest-to-the-pin contest on No. 17 will determine which teams wins the remaining skins and money.
Additional bonus money is on the line with extra coin for birdies, eagles, holes-in-one and albatrosses. All the money goes to charity. McIlroy and Johnson will play for the American Nurses Foundation, while Fowler and Wolff strike it for the CDC Foundation.
The Course
This will be the first televised event from Seminole, a stock par-72 that plays just over 6,800 yards. It’s not a difficult layout but it does have defenses, namely the wind from being perched along the Atlantic Ocean and close to 200 bunkers. It’s a gorgeous setup with the back nine offering up some tempting eagle chances.
The Outcome
With no prize money on the line what’s the motivation? Well, how about good old-fashioned competition. With Fowler/Wolff being the underdogs they just might have more motivation to take down two of the best players in the world. In a normal situation throwing down on Rory and DJ is a no-brainer. But given the circumstances I’m counting on Wolff being the X-factor and getting a skins win for his team.
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