When Bryson DeChambeau mocked Rory McIlroy on the range about their duel at the US Open earlier this year, it seemed to be a sign that The Showdown was actually going to deliver where some exhibitions have really missed the mark.
Unfortunately, what many golf fans did not realise was that DeChambeau’s jibe at McIlroy was about as fiery as it was going to get between the two teams at Shadow Creek. Ultimately, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy ran out comfortable winners over Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.
The Showdown proved to be extremely underwhelming and did very poor numbers. DeChambeau even took his earpiece out at one stage, while it is fair to say that the LIV Golf stars looked extremely rusty. Both Scheffler and McIlroy have won since LIV’s most recent event.
It is hard to imagine that the game’s various decision makers will have been left even more determined to agree a deal off the back of the matchup.
Billy Horschel issues his verdict after watching The Showdown
Of course, it is far from being the only unique event on the golfing calendar at this time of the year, with TGL‘s inaugural season starting in January. The league will see six teams made up of a host of PGA Tour players face off. It is set to take place indoors, with full shots being hit into a giant screen.
Meanwhile, the players will be mic’d up – just like The Showdown. And speaking on the Fore Play Podcast Plus, Billy Horschel – who will be playing for Atlanta Drive – explained what he thought of The Showdown, and how TGL needs to learn from the potential mistakes from the event in Las Vegas.
“I’m not going to lie, I watched it last night and I’ve said this from the very beginning about this, because when you understand what’s going into it and everything else, you realise that for this to be successful, us as players need to be entertainers, we need to be different from what we are out at a PGA Tour event, inside the ropes. We need to play competitive golf and we need to be great at that aspect, but we need to be entertainers,” he said.
“And I watched The Showdown last night, and I actually thought it was going to be really good. Brooks can have some good lines, obviously Bryson’s elevated himself and doing that and showing a side of himself that no-one thought he ever had. Rory can be good, and Scottie’s Scottie. Scottie’s good, he’s quiet, but he’s got some zingers as well. When you see him behind closed doors, he’s a good guy, real fun to be around. There was some moments there, but it was more or less I thought between Charles Barkley and some of the commentators. There was nothing with the players.”
Horschel not alone in criticism of The Showdown
Horschel is not the only person to be critical of the presentation of The Showdown. What had the potential to be an amazing spectacle between four of the best players on the planet will now probably not live long in the memory.
Barkley’s role has been questioned, with the NBA legend at times overshadowing the four players, particularly when many were just as excited to hear what was said on the microphones as they were about the shots the players would hit.
It is important that TGL does not try and force its personality. But when you look at some of the names involved, from the likes of Tiger Woods to Justin Thomas to Xander Schauffele, it really does have the potential to succeed where The Showdown struggled.
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