Golf Jan 02, 2026

Scottie Scheffler beats Rory McIlroy in unique play-off to win frantic Golf Channel Games

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Scottie Scheffler beats Rory McIlroy in unique play-off to win frantic Golf Channel Games

Scottie Scheffler eclipsed Rory McIlroy in a play-off to win the inaugural Golf Channel Games at Trump National Golf Club Jupiter in Florida.

The unique event pitted the world No 1 and his team of Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns and Luke Clacton against Masters champion McIlroy and his team of Luke Donald, Shane Lowry and Haotong Li in a series of challenges - including a relay and timed drive competition.

The American team picked up the first two points with wins in the driving and short game events, before McIlroy's squad hit back with victory in the team relay.

The fourth event saw Clanton star in the 14-club challenge to put the Americans up 3-1, but a bonus-point win in the final closest-to-the-pin challenge drew McIlroy's team level and forced a play-off.

McIlroy and Scheffler squared off again to determine the victor, with Scheffler dropping his shot from 47 yards an inch closer to the hole than his opponent to claim a narrow victory for the Americans.

"It was fun, I thought the competitions were a lot of fun, it was something new," Scheffler told the Golf Channel.

"The relay was really interesting, just a ton of fun.

"A really good experience. I almost got taken out by a golf ball, it was interesting.

"I was pretty excited when Luke [Clanton] decided to agree to this, he's young, competitive. He started with a great long drive, did good on the chipping and then had some amazing shots on the 14-club challenge."

Scheffler recently became just the second player behind Tiger Woods to win PGA Tour player of the year at least four times in a row. He led the tour with six victories this year, including the PGA Championship and the Open.

He became the first player since Woods in 2000 to lead the PGA Tour with the lowest scoring average in each of the four rounds and had 15 consecutive tournaments in the top 10 to end his remarkable season.

The Golf Channel Games see players compete in time and strategy-focused challenges as part of two four-man teams lead by Scheffler and McIlroy.

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