McIlroy vs Ram... A Slightly Special First Appearance This Year

McIlroy Joins PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach
First Appearance in 6 Years, Riding Winning Momentum from Dubai
Lahm Debuts at LIV Golf Season Opener Mayakoba Tournament

It is the first outing of the new year for two stars. This is the story of Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), ranked 2nd in the world, and Jon Rahm (Spain), ranked 3rd. McIlroy will compete in the first tournament of the 2024 PGA Tour, while Rahm will make his debut in the LIV Golf League.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy challenges for the title at the PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

McIlroy will participate in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (total prize money $20 million), held over four days starting February 1 (local time) in Pebble Beach, California. Although he rarely appeared at Pebble Beach, he will compete following the tournament's upgrade to a premier event. It is his first appearance in six years since 2018.

He is showcasing peak form. This year, he played two DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) events in Dubai. On the 14th, he finished runner-up at the Dubai Invitational (total prize money $2.5 million), and on the 21st, he successfully defended his title at the Rolex Series Hero Dubai Desert Classic (total prize money $9 million), achieving his 17th DP World Tour victory. He has accumulated 24 wins on the PGA Tour.

This tournament has been designated a premier event starting this year. The winner's prize is a whopping $3.6 million (approximately 4.8 billion KRW). Only 80 players compete without a cut. Even the last-place finisher, ranked 80th, takes home $32,000 (about 42.57 million KRW), making it a money feast. Until last year, 156 players competed across three courses, but this year it will be held at two courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links (par 72, 6,972 yards) and Spyglass Hill Course (par 72, 7,041 yards). The first and second rounds are played once on each course. The third and fourth rounds take place at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) is also a strong favorite to win. World No. 4 Viktor Hovland (Norway) and Nick Dunlap (USA), who became the first amateur winner in 33 years at the American Express, will make their professional debuts. From Korea, runner-up at the Sony Open Byeonghun An, along with Juhyung Kim, Sungjae Im, Siwoo Kim, and Sunghyun Kim, will participate.

World No. 3 Jon Rahm will make his debut at the LIV Golf League opener, the Mayakoba tournament.

The LIV Golf League also kicks off its 2024 season. Jon Rahm, who recently joined LIV Golf in a surprise move, will finally make his appearance. The opening Mayakoba event (total prize money $25 million) will be held over three days starting February 2 at El Camaleon Golf Course (par 71, 7,116 yards) in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Rahm has won 11 PGA Tour titles and has held the world No. 1 ranking for 52 weeks. Last season, he swept four wins including the Masters major championship. When Rahm transferred to LIV, it was speculated that his signing bonus would be at least $300 million (approximately 399 billion KRW).

The LIV Golf League will hold 14 tournaments this year. They will take place across eight countries: Mexico, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Spain, and England. Notably, seven tournaments will be held in the USA alone. Charles Howell III (USA) aims for a second consecutive win at the Mayakoba event. Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson (all USA) will also join the competition.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.