OPTUM GOLF CHANNEL GAMES
By design, the Optum Golf Channel Games never stopped moving on Wednesday night, under the lights at Trump National Jupiter, where Scottie Scheffler’s team edged Rory McIlroy’s squad by the slimmest of margins.
Reliving top moments from the Golf Channel Games
As the PGA Tour hits the Sunshine State, we look back at some of the best moments from December's Golf Channel Games in South Florida, courtesy The Curetivity Foundation. The Curetivity Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to create hope and cure kids by raising funds and awareness in the fight against childhood cancer.
Up Next
Scottie Scheffler nipped Rory McIlroy in a playoff to win the inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games. See how the event played out in Jupiter, Florida.
CHALLENGE EXPLAINERS
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Power and precision takes center stage in the first competition of the Golf Channel Games, where each team will go head-to-head driving six balls to earn points.
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Poise and precision take center stage in the second competition of the Golf Channel Games, where each team will go head-to-head chipping and pitching before racing to the green to show off their putting skills.
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Teamwork and speed will be the name of the game during the third competition of the Golf Channel Games, an exciting team relay.
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Competition 4 of the Golf Channel Games features a 14-Club Challenge, where strategy meets skill as players get one shot with one club to get as close to the pin as they can, earning points in the process.
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The Captain’s Challenge of the Golf Channel Games features Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy going head-to-head hitting 10 shots from various locations to gain the most points.
TEAM SCHEFFLER
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler leads a team of four Americans against Rory McIlroy’s international squad.
Keegan Bradley, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, will team with three other Americans against Rory McIlroy’s international team.
Burns, a five-time PGA Tour winner, is part of captain Scottie Scheffler’s team at the Optum Golf Channel Games.
Clanton, a former world No. 1 amateur, is part of captain Scottie Scheffler’s team at the Optum Golf Channel Games.
TEAM MCILROY
World No. 2 McIlroy leads a team of four international players against Scottie Scheffler’s American squad.
Donald, the two-time winning European Ryder Cup captain, will be part of Rory McIlroy’s international team.
Lowry, who sealed the Ryder Cup for Europe, will join good friend Rory McIlroy as part of the international team.
Li, a four-time DP World Tour winner from China, is part of Rory McIlroy’s international team.
MORE NEWS
Jimmy Stanger holed out from the fairway on the par-4 14th, his fifth hole in Round 2 of the 2026 Cognizant Classic. Watch the shot and the reax.
Ryan Gerard talked about taking an opening round approach shot shin-deep in the mud on the sixth hole during Happy Hour with Smylie presented by Michelob Ultra. Gerard finished with a bogey on the hole Thursday but found redemption a day later by getting a birdie on the same hole -- one of four in Gerard’s bogey-free second round.
Koepka’s putter came alive Friday morning at PGA National, where Koepka fired a 5-under 66, his best round in a non-major PGA Tour event in almost four years.
Jay Madara is stepping down from his role as PGA Tour chief financial officer.
Extended highlights from the opening round of the PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic at PGA National, the first of four consecutive events on the Florida swing.
Will Zalatoris is the latest big name to withdraw from the 2026 Cognizant Classic. Zalatoris, who has had multiple surgeries on his back, is missing this week’s tournament with a left ankle injury. He is playing on Tour this year through a major medical exemption which means his starts are limited, Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard reports.
Nico Echavarria told Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard that his 2026 season on Tour has been “a lot of highlights and a lot of lowlights.” The first round at PGA National is among the former as the 31-year-old Colombian native sits one shot off the lead after firing an 8-under 63 on Thursday.
The first of four Florida stops on the PGA Tour continues Friday at the Cognizant Classic, where Austin Smotherman and Nico Echavarria have gained separation on the leaderboard from the rest of the field.
Unfazed by a quadruple bogey on the 17th hole, David Ford rallied with an incredible approach shot for eagle on PGA National’s second hole. He followed it up with an equally impressive eagle on 3, completely undoing the four strokes gained from his front nine. And if that wasn’t enough, Ford’s hole-out par save on 4 gave him three consecutive makes from off the green.
Daniel Berger has the best combined opening-round score of any player on Tour at PGA National since 2020. Berger, who shot a 4-under 67 on Thursday, sits comfortably inside the Cognizant Classic’s top 10 after 18 holes.