McIlroy and Scheffler lead Golf Channel Games as golf revives the silly season

By Canadian Press on December 16, 2025.

It turns out there’s still a place for what amounts to the “silly season” in golf.

The Skins Game returned under a slightly different format — held on Black Friday instead of the weekend after Thanksgiving, and a reverse purse that added to the stakes. It wasn’t as must-see as when it began in the 1980s, but it was a fun option before football started.

The Grant Thornton Invitational is now mixed team, a big improvement.

Next up might be the most compelling of all. The “Golf Channel Games” makes its debut Wednesday night at Trump National in West Palm Beach, Florida, featuring teams led by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, the two biggest names in golf.

They will compete for points in five competitions, most of them where time is a factor, that include a driving grid, chipping and putting, and a 14-club challenge in which a club is out of the rotation once it has been used.

“Just the opportunity to showcase our game in a different way,” McIlroy said. “Sort of lean into other sports in a way, like the NFL combine or the 3-pointer contest in basketball or the Home Run Derby in baseball. It’s just a chance to try something new.”

McIlroy’s team features his Ryder Cup captain, Luke Donald, best mate Shane Lowry and Haotong Li of China, who rarely lacks for entertainment. Scheffler has his Ryder Cup captain, Keegan Bradley, best mate Sam Burns and Luke Clanton.

The time clock should keep it moving — two minutes for the driving challenge, three for the short game and one format of alternate shot with players positioned on the tee, fairway and two around the green. Lowest score in the shortest amount of time wins.

“I think it’s going to be 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.

Both team captains are geared for this. Scheffler is renowned for competing in all sorts of games with the older pros at Royal Oaks, whether it was a putting contest or trying to hit the pole on the driving range.

The 14-club challenge has his attention, especially if a putter is all that’s left for a full shot.

“I’ll probably try and use a backup putter for the 14-club challenge,” he said. “I’m definitely not going to be out on the range ripping full putters trying to figure out that shot. I’m just going to figure that one out as naturally as possible within the competition.”

McIlroy said he grew up playing two balls and kept the worst score and best score on each hole. And he recalled some fun games they did during commercial shoots, one in particular.

“They actually made me do a flop shot over Tiger, and I was probably as nervous as I’ve been in a long time,” McIlroy said. “His body is already banged up. I didn’t want to add to it.”

Last chance

Two players are worth noting at the Mauritius Open this week with the Masters on their minds.

Ryan Gerard is No. 57 in the world ranking and likely would need to finish fourth to move into the top 50 in the final ranking and earn a spot at Augusta National. Dan Brown of England is No. 72 and would have to win to have a chance.

Otherwise, Sam Stevens would hang on for a top-50 spot. That would give the Masters field five American professionals who have yet to win on the PGA Tour.

Canter’s decision

Laurie Canter played the inaugural season on LIV Golf when he didn’t have full status on the European tour. When there was no room for him in the Saudi-funded league, he returned to the European tour, won enough to crack the top 50 in the world and this year earned one of the 10 PGA Tour cards through his finish on the Race to Dubai.

And then he turned down the PGA Tour and joined LIV Golf, but not without plenty of thought into his future.

“You’re weighing up all these things,” Canter told The Times of London. “Where am I going to play my best golf and how do I feel I can do that and be compensated in the best way that I can? But it is also the lifestyle.”

Canter said the PGA Tour is “probably the pinnacle of tour golf,” but that he still enjoys playing in Europe and the Englishman is “passionate about playing events in the DP World Tour.”

“If you’re going out to play on the PGA Tour and you can live in America, that’s obviously achievable,” he told The Times. “But at this point, I don’t want a life like that. My family is happy and settled where they are. I have two daughters (ages 3 and 1). Travelling back and forth to America 30 weeks of the year isn’t sustainable.”

Raised hands of applause for Hall

Kevin Hall has been chosen by his peers to receive the APGA Adrian Stills Award, which comes with a $25,000 award to support golf and $10,000 he gets for the charity of his choice.

Stills co-founded the Advocates Professional Golf Association Tour in 2010.

Hall, a former Big 10 Conference champion at Ohio State, has stayed in the game despite being deaf since he was 2. The Cincinnati native has been part of the APGA Tour since the start. The circuit is dedicated to inspiring an inclusive future in golf.

Hall, 43, won the APGA Daugherty Foundation Championship in St. Louis and had four other top 10s.

“APGA Tour has been such a big part of my professional golf career and opened so many doors not only for me, but for many other amazing golfers. None of it would have been possible without Adrian’s vision and unwavering dedication over the past 15 years,” Hall said.

Hall has played seven times on the PGA Tour. He won the Butterfield Bermuda APGA Championship in 2024 to earn an exemption into the PGA Tour event in Bermuda. He turned it down to compete in the Deaflympics in Tokyo, where he won the silver medal in October.

Kiwi and the Rising Sun

The PGA Tour of Australasia and Japan Golf Tour are getting together for the first time to create the ISPS Handa Japan-Australasia Championship on March 5-8 at Royal Auckland & Grange Golf Club.

It’s part of a three-week stretch of golf in New Zealand, with the new event preceded by the New Zealand PGA and New Zealand Open. And it will be the first big event in Auckland since 2004.

ISPS Handa is a prominent sponsor of golf worldwide.

“The relationship between Japan and Australasia is vitally important, and we are very pleased to help foster it through this championship,” said Haruhisa Handa, founder and chairman of ISPS Handa.

Gavin Kirkman, the CEO of PGA of Australia, said the co-sanctioned event would strengthen the relationship between the tours and provide players an international stage.

Divots

Of the five players who earned PGA Tour cards through Q-school, medalist A.J. Ewart was the only one who had to go through the second stage of Q-school. … The Memorial generated $5.3 million for charities in central Ohio, the first time it surpassed the $5 million mark in a year. … Matt Kuchar and C.T. Pan of Taiwan have been selected to be captions of the Junior Presidents Cup teams at Medinah this September. … The Epson Tour has released a 19-tournament schedule for 2026 that will visit 14 states, with three tournaments in Florida and three in Michigan. The top 15 players earn LPGA Tour cards for the following season.

Stat of the week

Scottie Scheffler’s statistical ranking improved or stayed level in nine out of 13 main categories compared with 2024. The exceptions were driving accuracy (23rd in 2024 to 59th), birdie average (1st to 2nd), greens in regulation (3rd to 11th) and sand saves (70th to 90th).

Final word

“It was probably the hardest par I’ve ever made in my life.” — Marcelo Rozo of Colombia, who made par on the final hole of Q-school to avoid a playoff and secure a PGA Tour card for the first time.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press

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