On Thursday, It was revealed that the PGA Tour will be a part of bringing back the legendary Skins Game golf battle in 2025.
Pro Shop, a golf media and commerce company, is teaming up with the PGA Tour to bring back this event after a 15-year hiatus. The popular game will make its official return on Black Friday of next year.
“The Skins Game embodies everything we strive for at Pro Shop – celebrating the rich traditions of golf while creating premium entertainment that resonates with today’s modern audience,” said Chad Mumm, co-founder of Pro Shop. “We’re thrilled to partner with Propagate and the PGA TOUR to reimagine this legendary competition, blending the game’s storied history with fresh energy and excitement for a new generation of fans.”
This comes as the PGA Tour will also have the TGL league during the 2025 season on Mondays from January to March, expanding its opportunity to see the best players in the world.
The offseason skins game first started in 1983 and featured the game’s biggest stars, like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tom Watson. As time went on, more stars participated, including Tiger Woods and Fred Couples, with the latter winning six times.
With this event returning in 11 months, here are 10 players we want to see compete in next year’s skins game.
Scottie Scheffler
Who would not want to see the No. 1 player in the world compete? In 2024, he won nine times, highlighted by a Green Jacket, an Olympic Gold medal, and a Players Championship. Scottie Scheffler won his third straight Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award on Tuesday, making him the first player since Tiger Woods to win Player of the Year three straight times in 2005-07. He is also the last player since Woods in 2007 to win it in back-to-back fashion.
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Xander Schauffele
Xander Schauffele was the reason Scheffler did not win the Player of the Year award unanimously because he won not one, but two major championships this year. Schauffle claimed his first major victory at the PGA Championship last May before being victorious at the Open Championship two months later.
Some players would take two major wins over Scheffler’s one major victory at Augusta National. Add in his performance at the Presidents Cup in September, highlighted by making a crucial birdie putt on Saturday, shows he can compete with anyone.
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Bryson DeChambeau
If Xander Schauffele has a stoic mentality, the whole 180 from that is Bryson DeChambeau. During the PGA Championship, Dechambeau celebrated putts and chip-ins with the gallery to fuel him for the rest of the tournament. Although he came up short, DeChambeau celebrated his U.S. Open victory a month later with the gallery, allowing them to touch the trophy.
The showmanship is in DeChambeau’s background, having a YouTube channel with more than 1.6 million subscribers.
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Patrick Cantlay
Nobody has a better skin nickname than Patrick Cantlay. Also known as “Patty Ice,” Cantlay seizes the moment. During the Presidents Cup, Cantlay made an 18-foot putt up the hill to secure a point with Schauffele over Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim. Cantlay has a formidable presence in team play, especially in past Presidents Cups and Ryer Cups.
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Hideki Matsuyama
When Hideki Matsuyama is playing at his best, he is one of the best players in the world. In Friday’s Foursomes at the Presidents Cup, Matsuyama and Sungjae Im combined to defeat Cantlay and Schauffele 7 and 6 in an undefeated day for the International team. In 2024, Matsuyama won two times at The Genesis Invitational, a Signature Event, and the FedEx St. Jude to kick off his FedEx Cup Playoff run.
Jordan Spieth
A healthy Jordan Spieth would be ideal for a skins game. Spieth is one of those players that is one major win away from achieving a career grand slam. Spieth, who needs a PGA Championship, had wrist surgery this offseason. He is expecting to be fully healthy when the new season starts in a couple of weeks. The wrist pain kept him from winning in 2024. However, Spieth is ready to get back into the winner’s circle next year.
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Justin Thomas
Spieth’s best friend, Justin Thomas, also cracks this list of who we want to see in a skins game. In Netflix’s Full Swing, directed by Mumm, Spieth and Thomas are preparing for the 2022 PGA Championship. They are playing a money game, called “Hammer.” If Thomas won the hole, he won $100. But if Thomas won the hole with a birdie, he won $200. “Practice rounds, money game, it’s kind of good prep for a tournament,” Thomas said in that first episode.
Jason Day
Jason Day is another player to see at the Skins game next year. He revitalized his career with a win last year before finishing just outside the cutline for the Tour Championship. Day was teammates with Matsuyama at the Presidents Cup where the Aussie won one of his three matches. Day can compete with the best world having been a former world No. 1.
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Ludvig Aberg
Now with some youth, we go to Ludvig Aberg. Ranked No. 5 in the world, Aberg, 25, has proven he can play with the best on the planet. Aberg was the runner-up at the Masters, leading to his first appearance at a Tour Championship. He has shined in team play, going 2-2 in his first Ryder Cup in 2023. That was highlighted by winning 9 and 7 with Viktor Hovland over Scheffler and Brooks Koepka.
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Tom Kim
Tom Kim, 22, proves he can play amongst the best. He became the youngest player since Woods with three PGA Tour titles. Kim also would have had his fourth PGA Tour victory last June. However, he lost to Scheffler in a playoff at the Travelers Championship, the final Signature Event. He has also delivered the celebration, especially during the Presidents Cup, when he drained some long putts.
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