The teams for the Golf Channel Games are confirmed! Earlier this year, it was announced that Rory McIlroy & Scottie Scheffler will compete with each other in an exclusive event in December 2025. Bryson DeChambeau‘s exclusion from the tournament took many by surprise, considering his influence in the community. However, judging by the latest update, it seems that there is a reason the LIV Golf pro was selected for the tournament. And that may be because it is a PGA Tour exclusive event.

As Josh Carpenter revealed the initial news about the event back in August, he also gave the latest update about it today. The Sports Business Journal reporter wrote, “Interesting teams for the Golf Channel Games. McIlroy: Shane Lowry, Haotong Li, Luke Donald. Scheffler: Sam Burns, Luke Clanton, Keegan Bradley.” Both teams comprise players who were part of the Ryder Cup squads and one surprising name each.

McIlroy will lead the Team Europe captain, Luke Donald, his friend, Shane Lowry, and DP World Tour pro, Haotong Li. For anyone who doesn’t remember, Li was a major threat to Scheffler for the majority of the 72 holes of The Open 2025 at Royal Portrush. Speaking of Scheffler, his team comprises fellow Ryder Cup teammate Sam Burns, his captain at Bethpage, Keegan Bradley, and rising star Luke Clanton. Bradley will be looking for some sort of payback against McIlroy & his squad.

Everyone playing in the event is eligible to be a part of the PGA Tour. That includes Haotong Li, who has been a frequent flyer on the PGA Tour since 2016. That explains why stars like Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, & Tyrrell Hatton didn’t make the field. Having said that, both Li & Clanton have been breakout stars on the Tour this season. Li’s performance in The Open put the spotlight on him. And Clanton, who was in his rookie season, managed to make the cut in 11 out of the 16 events he played.

Now that the teams are confirmed, let’s take a look at the other details about the Golf Channel Games.

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What is the format of Team Rory McIlroy vs. Team Scottie Scheffler in the Golf Channel Games?

Now that the teams of Rory McIlroy & Scottie Scheffler for the Optum Golf Channel Games are announced, the focus will shift to the actual action. The event will include five challenges that will be contested between both teams. They are called the timed drive competition, 14-club challenge, timed shootout, timed short-game competition, and captains’ challenge.

The tournament will be held at the Trump National Golf Club Jupiter in South Florida on December 17, 2025. It will be aired live on the Golf Channel and the USA Network. Details about the specifics of every challenge in the tournament are available on the Golf Channel website.