LIV Golf and PGA Tour showdown to be first major tournaments to pay winners in crazy way

LIV Golf and PGA Tour’s showdown next month will be the first-ever major golf tournament to pay players using cryptocurrency.

Golf has been in the midst of a civil war for over three years after the breakaway Saudi-backed LIV project was founded in 2021.

In the meantime, the PGA Tour has been fighting hard to stop its best players from ditching the sport’s primary tour in search of lucrative LIV riches elsewhere.

The two have been locked in conversation surrounding a move that would see LIV and PGA players go head-to-head on a more regular basis.

But while off-course talks stall, a one-off event set to be held in December will see two players from each tour battle it out in the LIV vs PGA ‘showdown’.

Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler from the PGA Tour are due to face off against LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, but there will be no cash involved at all.

Crypto.com has secured the main sponsorship deal for the event and have opted to pay the winners using their own product.

On the unusual move, the company’s CEO Kris Marzalek said: “This is testament to our confidence in the future of the US crypto market and the power of sports to bring fans to the most licensed crypto platform in the world – Crypto.com.”

The value of the purse on offer isn’t yet known, but DeChambeau, who will be representing team LIV for the match-up, has welcomed the idea.

The 31-year-old revealed: “The Showdown has been about innovation from the beginning and our commitment to delivering the best entertainment possible for the fans by uniting our sport.

“It is beyond exciting to have Crypto.com now on board to provide a true first with a crypto currency-based prize purse.”

It marks a major change and potentially the first of many tournaments where the winner is paid in crypto, and the company’s bigwigs are pushing for it to become a regular occurrence.

Chief Marketing Officer at Cypto.com Steven Kalifowitz said: “At Crypto.com, we look for firsts.

“The first crypto company to put our name on an iconic arena, The Crypto.comArena. The first to be a global sponsor for Formula 1, UFC, and the FIFA World Cup.

“Now, we will be the first to host a major golf tournament with the world’s top ranked players from LIV and the PGA Tour teeing off for a world’s first purse in CRO cryptocurrency.”

The action in the LIV vs PGA showdown gets underway on December 17.