TaylorMade Driving Relief match raises more than $5.5 million
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Rory McIlroy’s clutch bunker shot sets up par putt at TaylorMade Driving Relief
The final results are in. Total partner and individual donations totaled $5,571,211 for the TaylorMade Driving Relief skins match.
Sunday’s match at Seminole in Florida between the teams of Rory McIlroy-Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler-Matthew Wolff was the cornerstone of a charitable effort as live televised golf was played for the first time since the golf calendar was shut down two months ago due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With neither team able to win the decisive 18th hole, the match went to a closest-to-the-pin contest from 120 yards at the par-3 17th, with the six final skins available for $1.1 million. McIlroy, the reigning FedExCup champ and world No. 1, won the contest with the final shot of the day, as his ball finished closer than Wolff’s.
The final skins increased the total charitable skins winnings of McIlroy-Johnson to $1.85 million for the American Nurses Foundation. Fowler-Wolff won $1.15 million for the CDC Foundation. The UnitedHealth Group donated the $3 million for the skins contest.
“It’s different,” McIlroy said when asked about the pressure of playing for charity. “When you’re not playing for your own money, but you’re playing for someone else and playing for another cause, it sort of starts to weigh on you a little bit.
“I’m really proud to be a part of an event to entertain the people at home on a Sunday afternoon but also to raise money for people who really need it.”
In addition to the charity money raised through the skins, Farmers Insurance also donated a $1 million bonus pool for bonuses for birdies, eagles, aces and albatrosses. The bonus money earned benefits Off Their Plate, through World Central Kitchen that helps both frontline COVID-19 healthcare workers and impacted restaurant shift employees.
“In this unprecedented time, it is important for all of us to come together and work together to solve this crisis,” said Jeff Dailey, CEO of Farmers.
Seventeen birdies were made by the four players: 7 for Fowler, 4 for McIlroy, 3 for Wolff and 2 for Johnson.
TaylorMade also offered a $450,000 bonus pool for the longest drives on two holes. Wolff won both bonuses at both the second hole (356 yards for $100,000) and the 14th hole (368 yards for $350,000). “I’m happy to raise a lot of money with the long drives,” Wolff said.
Additional donations during the match totaled more than $1 million, thanks to sponsor donations from Mastercard, Rocket Mortgage and PGA TOUR Superstore, along with viewer donations that raised nearly $600,000.