Tale of the tape: Scheffler and McIlroy pick new teams for a Dec. 16 Golf Channel Games rematch

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will captain again at the second Optum Golf Channel Games on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at Trump National Golf Club Jupiter in Florida. Golf Channel announced the teams Monday. The event airs in primetime on Golf Channel and USA Network.

Scheffler picked three 2026 PGA Tour winners: Chris Gotterup, Michael Brennan and rookie Jackson Koivun. McIlroy has Matt Fitzpatrick, Si Woo Kim and Haotong Li. Li is the only player other than the captains who played last year.

Tale of the tape

Season numbers below are the ones Golf Channel published with the teams. World rankings are listed only where Golf Channel gave them.

Team Scottie has the wins, nine of them. Team Rory has the steadier résumés, with 31 top-10s to Team Scottie's 27, and the world No. 3 in Fitzpatrick, who Golf Channel says won four times worldwide this year. Golf Channel counts six of the eight among the top 20 in the world ranking.

Koivun is the wild card. The 21-year-old won another national title and player of the year at Auburn this spring, then won the 3M Open in his third start as a pro and played on the winning U.S. Presidents Cup team.

What happened last year

The first Games, on Dec. 17, 2025, came down to an inch. Team Scheffler (Sam Burns, Keegan Bradley, Luke Clanton) won the driving, short-game and 14-club challenges. Team McIlroy (Shane Lowry, Luke Donald, Li) won the team relay, and McIlroy beat Scheffler in the double-point captain's challenge to tie it. In a one-shot playoff from 47 yards, Scheffler finished one inch closer.

The Team Relay and 14-Club Challenge are back this year, and Golf Channel says new challenges are coming. The full broadcast team will be announced in the coming weeks, according to Golfweek.

The TGL crossover

Eleven days later, TGL's third season starts Dec. 27. Koivun and Kim are teammates there on Motor City Golf Club, so they'll go from opposite sides in Jupiter to the same bench at SoFi Center. McIlroy plays for Boston Common.

Put Dec. 16 on the calendar. If last year is any guide, the 14-club challenge is where Team Scottie can bank points, and the relay is where McIlroy's side has to answer.