Tour News

Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler to compete in pre-U.S. Open prime-time exhibition

Published

8 years ago

Feb 16, 2016

Two of the biggest stars in pro golf, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, are reportedly set to meet in a prime-time exhibition the week before the U.S. Open. The showdown will take place Tuesday, June 7 at the Detroit Golf Club, according to Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press.

Reportedly, there will be a celebrity/team element to the competition, with a “Team Rory” vs. “Team Rickie,” angle to the showdown, in contrast to the Tiger Woods “Motorola Showdown at Sherwood” exhibitions of 1999 and 2000, when a head-to-head format was utilized.

The first two hours of the competition will be broadcast live by Golf Channel. From 9-11 p.m., CBS will pick up the coverage. Again, details regarding format are yet to emerge.

Detroit-based Quicken Loans is sponsoring the event. The company has emerged as a significant sponsor on the PGA Tour in recent years, rolling out the Quicken Loans hole-in-one sweepstakes and serving as the title sponsor for the Quicken Loans National. Fowler is also personally sponsored by the Detroit company.

As Ferguson notes, Quicken Loans has pursued unique marketing efforts in the past, particularly in the sports space. The company sponsored the first college basketball game on an aircraft carrier in 2011 and offered a $1 billion prize to anyone who completed a perfect NCAA bracket in 2014.

We haven’t seen prime-time golf exhibitions since the aforementioned “Showdown at Sherwood” series, which came to an end in 2005.

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18 Comments

Moss

Feb 20, 2016 at 9:25 am

This is exactly the kind of thing to bring more young folks to the game and bring a fresh perspective. The idea of “teams” is great and to have their celebrity pals playing and sharing the experience socially could be pretty cool. Huge fan of this idea! Thanks for sharing WRX!

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Woodlands Barbershop Dennie

Feb 19, 2016 at 10:29 am

quicken loans more predatory lending service.

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steve

Feb 17, 2016 at 8:40 am

Sounds exciting watching two boring guys play golf. Has Rickie become the most overexposed golfer, he is a great golfer but man he is overexposed.

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- Carlos Danger
  
  Feb 18, 2016 at 10:31 am
  
  overexposed? care to define what in the world you mean by that?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Steve
    
    Feb 18, 2016 at 10:37 am
    
    No
    
    Reply Report comment
- Brian
  
  Feb 19, 2016 at 2:10 pm
  
  I’m curious what you want to see? Two weeks ago, the majority of the golf community bashed Rickie for being too aggressive in Phoenix. Now you’re saying he’s a boring golfer. You can’t have it both ways…
  
  Reply Report comment
Dan

Feb 16, 2016 at 8:04 pm

So how can I get tickets. Right in my backyard!

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Charlie

Feb 16, 2016 at 12:34 pm

While I applaud the idea, get ready for commercials galore!

Will try to DVR it.

Reply Report comment
Bob Vokey

Feb 16, 2016 at 11:08 am

who cares? Watching Rickie play is like watching grass grow. Mr.Monotone

Reply Report comment
- AllBOdoesisgolf
  
  Feb 16, 2016 at 11:35 am
  
  wahhh wahhh wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh debbie downer….
  
  Reply Report comment
Golfeen23

Feb 16, 2016 at 10:24 am

Looks like you need to do some fact checking. The Carrier Classic was not in 2015 and the Billion Dollar Bracket wasn’t last year.

Reply Report comment
- Zak Kozuchowski
  
  Feb 16, 2016 at 10:31 am
  
  Thanks for the comment, Golfeen23. The dates have been updated and are now accurate. We appreciate your help.
  
  Reply Report comment
- steve
  
  Feb 17, 2016 at 8:33 am
  
  Surprised your comment wasn’t deleted.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Double Mocha Man
    
    Feb 28, 2016 at 7:26 pm
    
    Steve… were you having a bad day? Sounds like you needed a good gin & tonic.
    
    Reply Report comment
birdeez

Feb 16, 2016 at 9:47 am

gotta love primetime golf… should be a fun watch!

now if only the fedex cup would take a hint and move the final round to match play for the final 4-8 and make the finale a primetime special 18 holes winner take all.

Reply Report comment
- steve
  
  Feb 17, 2016 at 8:43 am
  
  Yes and how would you suggest they play in the dark in Atlanta?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Andy
    
    Feb 18, 2016 at 9:19 pm
    
    Youre a nob
    
    Reply Report comment
Joew2328

Feb 16, 2016 at 8:56 am

SO EXCITED FOR THIS!!

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

Published

3 days ago

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GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.

We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.

We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.

Check out links to all our photos, below.

General Albums

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See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

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Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open

Published

3 weeks ago

Apr 1, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.

The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.

GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.