The Tour Championship will have more than the PGA Tour’s biggest names competing at East Lake Golf Club this week.
PGA Tour Studios is bringing back The Showdown, a creator-focused golf competition that will put athletes, entertainers and some of the sport’s best-known online personalities together for a closest-to-the-pin battle. The Showdown presented by DraftKings was filmed Tuesday at East Lake.
The competition takes place on East Lake’s par-3 15th hole and carries a charitable prize. DraftKings SERVES will make a donation to a charity chosen by the winning creator.
Nick Chubb, Katt Williams Among Showdown Field
The field brings together personalities from several corners of sports and entertainment.
Former Georgia Bulldogs and Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is part of the competition, as is former New England Patriots running back Sony Michel. Comedian Katt Williams also joins a group featuring several names familiar to fans of golf content on YouTube and social media.
James Dvorak and TyKo of Handshake Bets are in the field, along with Jake Adams of Country Club Adjacent. Barstool Sports’ Fore Play is represented by Frankie Borrelli and Trent Ryan, while Cheddy of Freezertarps, Gabi Powel and Hannah Rae round out the lineup. Aaron Chewning of St. Andre Golf will host the event.
Instead of playing a conventional round, the participants will face a single-shot elimination challenge on the 15th hole. The format also includes a reverse mulligan wrinkle, bringing an element that has become familiar to viewers of creator-driven golf competitions.
$50,000 Will Go to Winning Creator’s Charity
DraftKings SERVES, DraftKings’ corporate social responsibility initiative, will contribute $50,000 to an organization selected by the winner. According to the announcement, the charitable component will be incorporated throughout the program rather than simply serving as a prize revealed at the end.
Sabrina Macias, DraftKings’ senior vice president of global communications and corporate social responsibility, said the format gives the company an opportunity to combine entertainment with support for organizations doing important work in their communities.
PGA Tour Building on Success of First ‘Showdown’
This is not the PGA Tour’s first experiment with the concept.
The inaugural edition of The Showdown took place around the WM Phoenix Open earlier in February. Actor Brian Baumgartner won the 2026 WHOOP Shot at Glory with a shot that was 10 feet, 4 inches from the pin.
According to the Tour, that event generated more than 600,000 views on YouTube, providing a strong enough response to bring the format back for one of the biggest weeks on the PGA Tour calendar.
“The response to the first edition of The Showdown reinforced the appetite among fans for creative, personality-driven programs that complement our traditional competition,” Luis Goicouria, PGA Tour Studios executive vice president, said.
The concept is also another indication of how the Tour is attempting to reach golf fans outside traditional live tournament broadcasts.
Creator golf has developed into its own entertainment category, with YouTube personalities and social media creators attracting audiences that do not necessarily consume the sport in the same way as longtime PGA Tour viewers.
Fans will not have to wait long to see which competitor handles the pressure at East Lake.
The Showdown premieres Saturday, August 29, at 10 a.m. ET. The post-produced event will be available through the PGA Tour’s YouTube channel and its FAST channels, with DraftKings also providing distribution support.
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