Although the PGA Tour will not return for at least another four weeks, golf fans itching for world-class ‘live’ action can tune in to watch Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson take on Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff in the TaylorMade Driving Relief supported by UnitedHealth Group at Seminole Golf Club.
The charity skins event in aid of Covid-19 relief will be broadcast on the Golf Channel at 2am, Monday, May 18, Malaysian time (Astro Channel 822). For other viewing options, click here.
Johnson and McIlroy will team up for the American Nurses Foundation, while Fowler and Wolff will play for the Center for Disease Control Foundation. Each team will start with US$500,000 in the bank.
“Obviously with no live sports really on (TV) right now, I think the world needs something to watch,” said Johnson. “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.”
Dustin Johnson (Photo by Getty Images)
The two-man teams will play four-ball, with each player playing his own ball. Each team’s score for a hole is the lower score from the two partners. Holes 1 through 6 will be worth US$50,000, while Holes 7 through 16 will be for US$100,000. 17 and 18 will be worth US$200,000 and US$500,000 respectively.
In addition to the skins match, Farmers Insurance will award US$25,000 for every birdie, US$50,000 for each eagle and US$150,000 for any hole-in-one or albatross (double eagle).
Farmers Insurance has also pledged US$1 million to back a birdies-and-eagle pool to benefit Off Their Plate, a fundraising initiative through World Central Kitchen that helps both frontline Covid-19 healthcare workers and impacted restaurant shift employees.
PGA Tour Charities’ online fundraiser is live on GoFundMe, where fans around the world can donate to support additional Covid-19 relief efforts in conjunction with TaylorMade Driving Relief, building upon the event’s initial US$4 million raised. Fans outside the United States can do so via www.pgatour.com/drivingrelief.
“I don’t feel like I’m giving that much, but the impact of it can be huge,” 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.”
Fowler added: “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.”
