Rory McIlroy headlines The Match as he takes on Ryder Cup rival alongside LPGA Tour stars

The latest addition of Capital One’s ‘The Match’ will see four-time major champion Rory McIlroy team up with Lexi Thompson to take on Max Homa and Rose Zhang on Monday.

The matchplay event has drawn in some of sport’s biggest names in recent years, from golfing royalty Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, to the likes of Tom Brady, Stephen Curry and Patrick Mahomes from other walks of the sporting world. McIlroy himself has played in the event before, joining Woods, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in 2022.

This month’s edition though is one of the most eagerly anticipated yet, with the PGA Tour-LPGA Tour crossover including four of the sport’s most in-form players.

McIlroy – who needs little introduction – will be joined by another major champion in Thompson, who has an impressive 11 LPGA Tour wins to her name at the age of 29. Their rival pairing is headlined by Homa, one of the PGA Tour’s rising stars in recent years and Team USA’s only shining light at last Autumn’s Ryder Cup.

The world No. 5 has six wins on the PGA Tour in the last four years, with his last coming at the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open just over one year ago. He is joined by the hottest prospect in female golf in Zhang, who has burst onto the scene since turning professional last campaign.

Despite being one of the LPGA Tour’s freshest faces, Zhang has broke into the top-25 players in the world, winning her maiden Tour event at the Mizuho Americas Open last summer. Six years on from Woods and Mickelson’s eye-watering £7.1 million ($9m) money match, the clash is now a charity-based one.

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Max Homa will be the man taking on McIlroy

The chosen charity for Monday’s edition of the event is First Tee, who aim to ’empower kids and teens through the game of golf’. The all-star fourball will play a 12-hole skins match under the lights at The Park West Palm, a community-orientated municipal course situated in Florida.

There has been much said about ‘growing the game’ in recent years, and McIlroy believes Monday’s showdown will help do exactly that. “I had a great time at The Match with Tiger, JT and Jordan, whenever that was a year and a bit ago,” he said per Sports Illustrated.

“But I would like to think this match will hopefully be more impactful for the game of golf going forward than that one… I think it’s just about the platform, right?

“If we can give the women a great platform to showcase their skills, whether it be the Grant Thornton Invitational or whether it be matches like this, whether it be combined US Opens like we did at Pinehurst. It can only be good for the game of golf as a whole.”