Driving Relief: Rory McIlroy’s final shot in a closest-to-the-pin play-off caps big day at Seminole

Golf returned on Sunday for the first time in more than two months with the TaylorMade Driving Relief charity skins match and from the start, everything was different. Four players in shorts. All carrying their own bags. Wide-open unobstructed views of plush fairways, sand dunes, palm trees and the sparkling Atlantic Ocean. No spectators. No caddies. Players spying the hole through rangefinders. No handling of the flagsticks. No one shouting, “Get in the hole.” And some trash talk. “I think you forget I’ve won two FedEx Cups that totalled US$25 million,” said McIlroy, ranked No 1 in the world, schooling the 21-year-old Matthew Wolff after paring the second hole. The first live golf in 66 days, or since the first round of The Players Championship in March, took place Sunday in Juno Beach and all for a good cause. More than US$5.5 million was raised to help Covid-19 relief efforts as the match came down to a closest-to-the-pin play-off on a shortened 17th hole. With six skins and US$1.1 million on the line, the teams halved the 18th hole. They moved to No 17 and set up 120 yards from the pin. Wolff was the only one on the green when McIlroy, hitting last, addressed his ball. As the ball was in flight, McIlroy wasn’t quite sure where it was headed, saying he didn’t know whether to tell it to “get going, stay long, stay short. “I wouldn’t be known for my wedge play. Still a little pressure there. It’s only 120 yards but it’s a tough shot. Just to see it land on the green and stay there. These Seminole greens, the ball can do funny things when you think it’s in a good spot.” Even when the ball settled, McIlroy wasn’t sure who was closer. He raised his arms. Then brought them down. He looked around and said, “you think?” Finally, getting the final word, he pumped his fist and let out a shriek. In the end, the big winners were the charities. But bragging rights went to McIlroy and Dustin Johnson, representing the American Nurses Foundation and winning 11 skins worth US$1.85 million, compared to the seven skins for US$1.15 million that went to Fowler and Wolff of the CDC Foundation Team. “It was very nice to be a part of something so cool,” Johnson said. “Just to get back out and play golf again, a little bit competitive. It was a lot of fun.” While Rickie Fowler clearly had the best day with seven birdies, Wolff, who said before the match he had the most to prove, impressed, too. The 21-year-old and defending NCAA champion won both long drive holes. His tee shots on No 2 sailed 356 yards and on No 14 travelled 368 yards. “I care so much and I’m trying to raise so much money,” said Wolff, who joined the PGA Tour last June after his career at Oklahoma State. “I felt like maybe I was a little nervous to start the day, but I definitely settled down. I’m happy to raise a lot of money with the long drive.” The match, played on the 7,265-yard, Donald Ross designed course, gave us a bit of a sneak peak to the new guidelines that will be implemented to help fight the coronavirus pandemic when the Tour restarts on June 11 in Fort Worth, Texas. All participants and officials were subject to testing and asked to practice social distancing, all facilities were disinfected, there were no bunker rakes and players were asked not to touch the flag sticks. When the Tour returns, players will pull their clubs from their bags. At one point, McIlroy thanked Wolff for doing his part to social distance when Wolff hit a tee shot into the sand dunes. McIlroy and Johnson won the first three skins when Johnson birdied the par 5 third hole after two carry-overs. After Fowler drained a short birdie putt on No 4 for his team’s first skin, McIlroy reminded him, “You can’t get shut out, now.” After McIlroy and Johnson won the next two skins, giving them a 5-1 lead, Fowler took over ... winning the next six. Fowler birdied No 9, which was worth three skins, No 11 worth two skins and No 12. With the last six skins carrying over, McIlroy and Johnson entered the closest-to-the-pin play-off not having won a skin since the sixth hole. Maybe it wasn’t like being in contention in a major, but still it was pressure ... a different kind of pressure. “When you’re not playing for your own money, playing someone else’s, or you’re playing for another cause, it sort of starts to weigh on you a little bit,” McIlroy said. That look of relief and fist pump said it all. Help us understand what you are interested in so that we can improve SCMP and provide a better experience for you. We would like to invite you to take this five-minute survey on how you engage with SCMP and the news.

Driving Relief: Rory McIlroy’s final shot in a closest-to-the-pin play-off caps big day at Seminole

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} More than US$5.5 million was raised to help Covid-19 relief efforts

More than US$5.5 million was raised to help Covid-19 relief efforts