Four top golfers are set to play a $3 million coronavirus charity relief match to be broadcast by NBC Sports on May 17, reports say.
World No. 1 ranked pro Rory McIlroy will join one-time U.S. Open winner Dustin Johnson to face off against second place 2018 Masters Tournament player Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff the latter of whom only just turned pro in 2019. The four will tee off for the TaylorMade Driving Relief charity match, Golfweek reported.
The match will be held at Seminole Golf Club, a Donald Ross layout in Juno Beach, Florida.
“I’m pretty excited to do a small part to raise some money and raise some awareness in these challenging times,” McIlroy said Monday on The Today Show.
“When I heard about this event, I couldn’t get involved fast enough,” Fowler added. “I know how much I’ve missed sports and golf, especially, so to be one of the first events returning to television is very exciting.”
UnitedHealth Group and Farmers Insurance are also jumping in to help sponsor the event.
“I think golf can return to doing things like this,” McIlroy said on Monday. “We can keep ourselves socially distant, keep ourselves in different carts, and stay obviously more than 6 feet away from one another, and that’s really important too, so, taking all the necessary precautions to put this match on.
“It’s been difficult to witness what so many are enduring over the last several weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic…I hope we can provide some respite and entertainment for those tuning in across the globe,” the top pro added in a press release.
This will be the first new pro golf that has hit televisions since the COVID-19 scare shut down sports across the world on March 12. The PGA has announced that it will resume play on June 11 with the PGA’s Charles Schwab Challenge.
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