The PGA Tour returns—or at least a few of its biggest stars.
On May 17, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy will battle Matthew Wolff and Rickie Fowler in a televised skins game backed by TaylorMade and UnitedHealth Group, with money raised going to the American Nurses Foundation and CDC Foundation, two organizations helping to lead COVID-19 relief efforts.
“I hope that we can provide some respite and entertainment for those tuning in across the globe,” said McIlroy, the defending RBC Canadian Open champion. “Dustin and I will have a lot of fun together and our games will fit well as we push to raise funds and awareness on May 17.”
The competition, which will follow strict CDC social distancing guidelines, local mandates and will utilize appropriate testing measures to help protect the health and safety of the golfers, will see a $3-million charity skins match with each of the teams competing for either the American Nurses Foundation or the CDC Foundation. Farmers Insurance, a key PGA Tour sponsor, is pledging $1-million to back a birdies and eagles pool for the charity Off Their Plate, a group that is a conduit for communities providing nutritious meals to hospital teams. Building upon this initial fundraising of $4-million, PGA Tour charities will announce a donation by text concept and online donation platform powered by GoFundMe to allow viewers to make additional contributions and raise funds for COVID-19 relief.
TaylorMade was keen on backing the event, said David Abeles, Chief Executive of TaylorMade. “After speaking with our Team TaylorMade athletes, we are thrilled to make this TaylorMade Driving Relief event happen with our partners at the PGA TOUR and NBC Sports,” he said. “The return of live golf and the opportunity to raise money for those affected is simply fantastic.”
McIlroy is currently ranked No.1 in the world, and has 18 PGA Tour victories to his name, with four major championship wins. Johnson, a 20-time PGA TOUR winner, is currently No. 5 in the world, while Fowler has nine wins, including the 2015 Players Championship. Wolff, one of the biggest hitters on tour, is the newcomer, who needed only four starts to record his first win. “I’m fired up to play alongside Rickie and raise money to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts,” he said. “Rickie and I are ready to bring our best and more importantly help the frontline heroes getting us through this extremely difficult time.”
Details:
When: May 17 on NBC and Golf Channel. The first two holes will be streamed on Twitter. The event will be shown from 2 pm to 6 pm. The event will feature commentary from Mike Tirico from his home in Michigan, as well as analysts Paul Azinger and Gary Koch, and Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner, who will work from an off-site production facility. Jerry Foltz and Steve Sands will work from Seminole.
Where:
Seminole Golf Club. One of the game’s most fabled courses, this one is almost never seen, let alone on TV.