Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy turned the first-ever “Golf Channel Games” into a thriller.
The two biggest names in golf squared off along with teams of three other golfers on Wednesday at Trump National in West Palm Beach, Fla. The Games consisted of five competitions — driving, short game, team relay, 14-club challenge, and a captains’ challenge.
Scheffler, the Highland Park graduate from Dallas, came out on top by a matter of inches. After his squad took the driving, short-range and 14-club challenges, McIlroy tied things up with a big shot in the captains’ challenge to force a playoff.
Rory McIlory defeats Scottie Scheffler in the captains’ challenge to force a PLAYOFF at the Optum Golf Channel Games. ⚔️👀
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— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) December 18, 2025
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Then, in a closest-to-the-hole challenge on 18 in the playoff, Scheffler bested McIlroy with a shot that was so tight in distance to the pin from McIlroy’s that they had to break out the tape measure to determine a winner.
The win is nothing new for Scheffler, the World’s No. 1 Golfer who has developed a penchant for competing in these types of non-traditional golf events.
“[It’s] a fun way to compete at the end of the year for us, in a time where there’s not a ton of stuff on the golf calendar,” Scheffler said on Tuesday prior to the event.
Scheffler played alongside his Ryder Cup captain, Keegan Bradley, friend Sam Burns and 22-year-old Luke Clanton.
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