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Koepka and DeChambeau to meet in head-to-head showdown next month

The American rivals and recent Ryder Cup team-mates will square off in the latest instalment of ‘The Match’ in Las Vegas on 26 November.

GOLF NEMESES AND recent Ryder Cup team-mates Brooks Koepka and Byson DeChambeau will meet in a head-to-head showdown next month in the latest instalment of the Sports Emmy-nominated golf live-event series The Match.

Turner Sport will televise the 12-hole match-play event in the States, with no broadcast details yet confirmed for Ireland.

The until-recently feuding duo were filmed embracing on a couple of occasions following the USA’s Ryder Cup trouncing of Europe — once to the hearty cheers of their fellow team-mates — but they will reignite their rivalry at Wynn Golf Course, Las Vegas, the day after Thanksgiving in the States (Friday 26 November).

As has been the case in previous Match broadcasts, live coverage of their encounter will see both players wearing open mics throughout the competition which will enable them to communicate directly with their opponent and with the broadcast commentators.

Current world number seven DeChambeau won when he first competed in The Match, pairing with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in July as they topped Phil Mickelson and Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady in a charity-focused instalment of the series.

Four-time Major winner Koepka is yet to appear as a competitor but donated via his foundation $100,000 to Covid-19 relief efforts during another charity Match in May 2020 — after vowing to do so if Brady, then playing alongside Mickelson against Tiger Woods and two-time Super Bowl winner Peyton Manning, could make a par on the front nine (Brady, despite his struggles, holed out for birdie on seven).

It has not been confirmed if there will be an altruistic slant to Koepka v DeChambeau, although the series so far has raised nearly $30 million in support of various American charities and initiatives and has generated nearly 10 million meal donations through Feeding America and other organisations.

Three of the four instalments so far have been charity-focused. Mickelson and Woods vowed to donate a portion of the winner-takes-all $9m purse (won by Mickelson) ahead of their original showdown in 2018, with both players playing in subsequent fundraising versions of The Match.

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