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Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson defeat Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff in charity match

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Professional golf’s soft return to live broadcast action Sunday in the TaylorMade Driving Relief charity skins event had a different feel, look and sound.

The players – world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and No. 5 Dustin Johnson teamed against No. 17 Rickie Fowler and No. 110 Matthew Wolff – were in shorts and carrying their own golf bags at revered Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida.

Each player was using a range finder. Concessions on putts were allowed, bunker rakes and caddies were not. Social distancing was the 15th club in the bag. Silence drifted about the seaside course with no spectators. Special guests from thousands of miles away popped up during the broadcast including President Trump, Bill Murray and world No. 2 Jon Rahm.

Still, despite evident rust from the four participants, which was understandable since they have played little since the sport shut down March 12 because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the reappearance of golf was welcomed by a sports-starved world and looked pretty darn good. Especially the eye-popping dollars raised for COVID-19 relief efforts.

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And the distinctive event ended in an unusual manner dripping with drama – a closest-to-the-pin contest from 120 yards on the 17th hole that served as the 19th hole worth $1.1 million.

And the world’s best player came through to steal the show.

McIlroy, with the last shot of the day, knocked his tee shot to 13 feet and about five feet inside the effort from Wolff to give the heavy favorites the victory worth a hefty $1.85 million for the American Nurses Foundation.

“I didn’t know whether to tell it to get up, or get down, stay long, stay short,” McIlroy said of the shot in strong winds. “I wouldn’t be known for my wedge play. There was a little pressure there.

“I would have loved to have given my partner a high five. It would have been nice to give him something or a high five, but obviously we can’t in these times, but yeah, it’s going to be different. It’s going to be different for a while, and we’re just going to have to get used to it.”

McIlroy and Johnson won 11 skins in all, Fowler and Wolff seven skins for $1.15 million for the CDC Foundation. Wolff earned another $450,000 with 724 yards worth of drives as he won both longest drive contests. And the four, with 16 birdies, earned another $630,000 from a bonus pool for the red numbers. Fans texting in donations added to the charity coffers. In the end, total donations exceeded $5 million.

“It was an awesome day, playing with DJ and Rickie and Matt. All of us out here for a great cause,” McIlroy said. “It’s been awesome and nice to get back onto the golf course and get back to some sort of normalcy.”

A sun-splashed day lit up fabled Seminole hard by the Atlantic Ocean to set up a grand stage for the first televised live golf since the first round of The Players Championship on March 12 – a 66-day gap. Soft breezes turned stronger as the day went longer and the tension rose.

McIlroy and Johnson sped out to the lead with a win on the third hole worth three skins and two more skins came on the fifth and sixth. But Fowler and Wolff stormed back to win seven skins through the 12th hole as Fowler made six birdies in a nine-hole stretch around the turn. But no team won the final six holes to set up the extra hole for most of the money on the line.

Players were befuddled throughout the round by the crowned, sloping greens that were softened by 3.5 inches of rain the previous 48 hours. Johnson rinsed a sleeve of balls as he clearly wasn’t as sharp as he wanted to be. Then again, he didn’t play a single round of golf for nearly seven weeks at leaving The Players.

Johnson made two birdies, Wolff three, McIlroy four and Fowler seven.

Players were tested twice before the event and arrived about an hour before the 2 p.m. ET tee time. Mike Tirico hosted the show on NBC from 1,300 miles away in his home in Michigan. Rich Lerner from Golf Channel did play by play with NBC analysts Paul Azinger and Gary Koch, the three stationed at PGA Tour Entertainment offices in St. Augustine, Florida, 200 miles from Seminole.

Steve Sands and Jerry Foltz will be the only reporters on the grounds. Rules officials and a limited television crew including six cameras kept the footprint on the grounds to around 50 people.

UnitedHealth Group pledged $3 million and Farmers Insurance gave $1 million for birdies, eagles, albatrosses and holes-in-one to benefit Off Their Plate, which helps coronavirus health care workers.

“It’s just fun being out here, being able to play golf, play with some of our close friends for a really good cause, or multiple causes, but all kind of central around COVID relief,” Fowler said. “It’s all a bonus just being able to play golf, a good heated battle. We had some fun.”

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