Formula One F1 - United States Grand Prix - Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas, U.S. - October 21, 2023 Golfer and Alpine investor, Rory McIlroy is pictured ahead of the sprint race REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File photo
(Reuters) - The next installment of The Match will be a mixed event featuring Rory McIlroy and Max Homa of the PGA Tour as well as the LPGA's Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang, it was announced on Tuesday.
The 12-hole event, to be played on Feb. 26 under the lights at The Park in West Palm Beach, Florida, will feature a first-ever mixed skins format with each hole worth a specified amount for charity, according to a report on the PGA Tour's website.
Each golfer will hit from the same tees for the four par-three holes used during the event while the remaining holes will use varying tee boxes and yardages for the men and women.
The golfer that raises the most money through the skins format will be declared the winner.
McIlroy, the only participant who has played in a previous edition of The Match, is a four-times major winner and one of golf's biggest names while Homa has six career wins on the PGA Tour.
Thompson is an 11-time winner on the LPGA Tour, including a major triumph at the 2014 Chevron Championship, while Zhang is coming off a standout rookie campaign in which she became the first player to win her LPGA debut since Beverly Hanson in 1951.
The previous eight iterations of the made-for-TV event have featured only men and some even included players from both the National Football League and National Basketball Association.
Capital One, which has been a partner since the inception of The Match in 2018 when Tiger Woods went head-to-head with Phil Mickelson, returns as title sponsor and will collaborate with TNT Sports on social, digital and broadcast integrations.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)
