PGA vs. LIV Challenge Odds and Predictions – Rival Tours Take it to the Golf Course

When is the PGA vs. LIV Match?

There hasn’t been a confirmed date, but we do know it’ll take place in December.

Where is the PGA vs. LIV Match?

No course is confirmed yet, but we do know it’ll be in Las Vegas.

Which Format Will Be Used for the PGA vs. LIV Match?

There are various formats that could be used, such as:

• • Scramble – Each player hits their shots, but they can choose whichever ball gives them the best option for their next shot.
  • Foursomes – This is also called alternate shot, where one player tees off, and the team alternates each shot.
  • Fourball – Each player plays their ball, and whoever has the best score is what is counted for the team.

PGA Tour Team and Analysis

The PGA is sending a strong team to this PGA vs. LIV match. Scottie Scheffler is the #1 player in the rankings, and has been since May 2023. He has seven wins in 19 PGA Tour starts this year, including his second Masters win. Scheffler also won the Olympic gold medal with a wild final-round 62 in France this summer.

Rory McIlroy won two from 19 PGA Tour events he played this year, and he also won a DP World Tour event in Dubai. The star has also had a few close calls, notably at the US Open. McIlroy was leading by two strokes with four holes to go at Pinehurst, before bogeying the final three holes. He missed two short putts that he surely has nightmares about.

Scheffler and McIlroy are two of the best ball-strikers the game has ever seen. Off the tee, and with their irons, if they’re dialed in, they usually play well. Around the greens, they’re also solid. But on the greens, it’s a different story.

While Scheffler won seven times, he would have won 10 or more tournaments if he even putted decently. Coincidentally, it was McIlroy who told Scheffler to switch to a mallet putter in March, and since then, Scheffler has putted better than before. It was bad news for McIlroy and the rest of the PGA Tour, but McIlroy will hope the putter is working for Scheffler in the PGA vs. LIV match.

And as for McIlroy, he typically putts well, until the pressure is on. That’ll be something to keep an eye on when you’re considering these PGA vs. LIV Match Play odds.

LIV Golf Team and Analysis

The LIV team is a little more difficult to analyze, as they haven’t been in the spotlight. Bryson DeChambeau might be the tour’s biggest star now, thanks to his second U.S. Open win.

While McIlroy made mistakes down the stretch, DeChambeau still had to make shots to take advantage. There is none better than a spectacular bunker shot on the 72^nd hole at Pinehurst, where he would par the hole to win the tournament.

DeChambeau has also acquired a huge following on social media, a far cry from the awkward player on the PGA Tour that was obsessed with numbers and data. However, on the LIV Tour, DeChambeau didn’t win in 13 starts, although he put up seven top-10s.

Brooks Koepka does have a pair of wins this year on the LIV Tour, in Singapore and at the Greenbrier in West Virginia. Those two wins were a part of six top-10s for Koepka, who didn’t crack the top 25 in any major this year. However, he won the PGA Championship in 2023, and was T2 at the Masters before that. When he is motivated, Koepka is still someone you would rather not mess with on the golf course.

Both players hit the ball a ton off the tee, and DeChambeau’s 323.5-yard average is the best of the four, just edging McIlroy’s 320.2 yards. However, neither DeChambeau nor Koepka are particularly accurate with their driver. They’ll need steady iron play, which both have as they rank in the top eight in greens-in-regulation on in the LIV Golf tour. Their putting has been up and down, as well.