Stage set for Driving Relief match at historic Florida course

By Rahul Banerji

Stealing the thunder from Tiger Woods on a golf course is no small feat, but the people behind Driving Relief match seem to have done an effortless job of it.

The for-charity match that sees Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson play Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff on Sunday will become the first live high-profile golf event since the corona shutdown in early March.

Woods and Phil Mickelson are poised to reprise their 2018 matchup – this time with partners – at “The Match: Champions for Charity” event next Sunday, May 24.

In November, 2018, Mickelson won the $9 million The Match on the fourth play-off hole.

Though the “rebel” Cactus Tour has seen professional golf being played without a break despite the big tours going off the radar, this Sunday’s matchup in Florida is the first high-profile professional golf event in almost two months.

Substantial sums

The skins game has already raised $4 million n guarantees from the event’s sponsors, one of whom has also promised to kick in substantial sums for every birdie and eagle scored by the four PGA Tour stars.

The venue is the historic Seminole Golf Club in June Beach, and the event has been billed as the TaylorMade Driving Relief supported by the UnitedHealth Group.

McIlroy and Johnson will play for the American Nurses Foundation, while Fowler and Wolff will turn out for the Center for Disease Control Foundation. Each team will start with $500,000 in the bank.

How to watch

In a statement the PGA Tour said the teams will play four-ball and the team’s score for a hole will be the lower score from the two partners.

Holes no. 1 to 6 will be worth $50,000, while nos. 7 to 16 will be for $100,000. Holes 17 and 18 will be worth $200,000 and $500,000, respectively.

Extras guaranteed

In addition to the skins match, Farmers Insurance will award $25,000 for every birdie, $50,000 for each eagle and $150,000 for any hole-in-one or an albatross (double eagle).

“I don’t feel like I’m giving that much, but the impact of it can be huge,” world number one McIlroy said.

“For us to get to play a golf match, it’s awesome that we can do that and bring some entertainment to quite a few people but also help in some way.

“What we’re doing, it’s a great thing. It’s a very small piece of all of this, but just happy to be able to help in some way and bring some joy to people when they haven’t had anything to really look forward to for a couple of months.”

Back on track

Meanwhile, former world number one Dustin Johnson had gone nearly two months between playing golf holes, but was back on track quickly ahead of the match.

In very his first practice round, the rangy Texan opened with, what else, a birdie.

 “I birdied the first hole,” Johnson said. “I got back into it real fast.”

Though the PGA Tour only returns at the Charles Schwab Challenge on June 11 Johnson is keen to put on a good show, the PGA Tour said.

 “Obviously with no live sports really on right now, I think the world needs something to watch,” Johnson said.

“Hopefully we can go out and put on a good show, and it’s for a great cause. We’re raising a lot of money for people who really need it, so it’s great to be a part of that, and I think we’re all really looking forward to it.”

“We’ll take the underdog spot, but basically it’s a toss-up on who’s got the hot putter, and it could be just a battle throughout the day,” Fowler said.

“One team might be playing better than the other. So, I don’t look at it at any side necessarily being favoured. We’re going to go tee it up and try and beat up on each other as bad as possible but have some fun.

“It’s pretty cool that we get to do this and raise some good money for charity because this has been a crazy, interesting time for our country and the world.”

Also read: McIlroy, DJ in live-on-TV charity game as golf pushes on for early return