Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are playing Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau in The Showdown. The made-for-tv event pits the two PGA Tour players against the two LIV Golfers for $10 million in cryptocurrency. A mainstay of events like The Showdown is Charles Barkley, the Basketball Hall of Famer who is an avid golfer. McIlroy took a jab at Barkley when the analyst asked the major champion about his eating habits.

“Hey Rory, I've got a question for you,” Barkley asked. “I notice you're eating a snack now. How much in a regular round do you eat?” McIlroy responded through a mouth full of protein bar, “Not as much as you, Chuck.”

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Barkley is in the booth with PGA Tour broadcaster Trevor Immelman and LIV Gold broadcaster David Feherty, continuing the motif. McIlroy and Scheffler started hot, winning the first six-hole mini-match 3&2 and scraping out a one-up victory in the second set.

Golf fans should watch The Showdown thinking about next month's TGL premier. The simulator league founded by McIlroy and Tiger Woods features only PGA Tour players. It begins in January, around the same time the Tour schedule picks up. It is said to feature more banter between the players, who will wear microphones.

DeChambeau and Koepka will not be involved in TGL but will play on LIV Golf again this season. When this match was announced, fans hoped it was the first step to a deal between the leagues. The PGA Tour and LIV Golf signed a framework agreement in June of 2023 that has not moved forward.

Moments like this will help facilitate these matches in the future. Players should lean into the banter part of this while taking the golf seriously, as Rory McIlroy does.