Barely two weeks remain before Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy face off against Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau in The Showdown. There is one player who is already looking forward to this. And that golfer is also trying to create hype around the match that has been somewhat missing. It’s Bubba Watson.

Given how bold the PGA Tour’s marketing and social media team has become in recent times, it was expected that the Jay Monahan-led circuit is likely to rise above the rivalry to promote its stars. There has been a stupendous silence from the Ponte Vedra-HQ Tour, however. 

McIlroy confirmed the initial reports. Then Scheffler spoke about DeChambeau and Koepka. Only recently did a Tour representative confirm that Scheffler and McIlroy were given the green light to compete against the LIV golfers in a made-for-TV match. Beyond that, nothing has come out of Ponte Vedra yet. 

Bubba Watson stands in sharp contrast to that. Recently, LIV Golf shared a countdown post on its official Instagram page. With a picture of DeChambeau and Koepka, it showed that only 14 days were left for the match. Bubba Watson was quick to respond. “I’m excited to see this,” wrote the two-time Masters champion. 

Well, Watson will have a front-row seat to the PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf duel. The RangeGoats Captain, who has been relegated this season by the way, will be the play-by-play announcer on the greens. Here are a few things you need to know before last week. 

The Showdown: format, purse size, and more

The Showdown will incorporate an innovative format. Unlike the previous editions of ‘The Match,’ which were 9-hole duels, this one will comprise a full 18-hole round. They have broken down the match into three parts. The first six holes will be played in the best ball (four balls), where the lowest score between the two players will count toward the team’s score. 

The next six holes will be played in foursomes (alternate shots). Whereas, the last six holes will be in the singles. Effectively, this packs an entire Ryder Cup format into 18 holes. The purse size is a whopping $10M. But there is a catch. Winners will be paid in CRO cryptocurrency, which is the official coin of the title sponsor, Crypto.com. 

We said Bubba Watson will have a front-row seat as a play-by-play announcer. Joining him are Lauren Jbara from TNT, NBA icon Charles Barkley, legendary broadcaster David Feherty, and Trevor Immelman as a lead analyst. You can catch all the action live on TNT, TBS, truTV, and the B/R Sports Add-On on Max.