Fans roast Golf Channel for uncanny McIlroy and Scheffler poster: “Who are these guys?”

Golf fans have been left utterly baffled after the official poster for the upcoming Optum Golf Channel Games appeared to show… well, not Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler.

The first alarm bell was rung by Golf Digest content director Jamie Kennedy, who posted the poster on social media with a zoom-in on Scheffler’s face. The result? A version of the World No.1 that looked more like a video game NPC than the four-time champion. 

McIlroy didn’t fare much better. When you zoom in, the Rory on the poster bears only a passing resemblance to the grand slam champ. AI Scheffler is much worse though. 

To add to the oddness, both players are wearing identical Nike outfits in matching colours. For an event designed around a head-to-head team battle, the poster instead makes it look like two members of the same Sunday scramble.

Scroll down the bottom of this page to see what PGA Tour fans are saying about the shocking poster...

Optum Golf Channel Games 2025: Teams, Format, Event

Strange graphics aside, the inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games is shaping up to be a lively silly-season showdown.

McIlroy’s team:

• Rory McIlroy
• Shane Lowry
• Haotong Li
• Luke Donald 

Scheffler’s team:

• Scottie Scheffler
• Sam Burns
• Luke Clanton
• Keegan Bradley

The inaugural event tees off Wednesday 17 December at 7pm from Trump National GC, Jupiter, Florida, and will air in primetime on Golf Channel and USA Network.

The rapid-fire contest features four challenges:

• Timed Drive, Chip & Putt – Players rack up driving yardage, chip to tight proximities, and hole as many feet of putts as possible.
• 14-Club Challenge – Each team draws from a full bag, closest to the pin, no club used twice.
• Timed Shootout – A frantic alternate-shot over three holes with players stationed tee-to-green.
• Captains’ Challenge – McIlroy and Scheffler go head-to-head with a set of wedge shots, bunker blasts and monster putts, with the lowest aggregate distance to the hole winning.

Both McIlroy and Scheffler are in action before the Games

Before they face each other in Jupiter, both players are keeping busy.

McIlroy returns to Australia next week for the first time since 2014, teeing it up at the Crown Australian Open at Royal Melbourne, where he last won the Aussie Open in 2013. 

Scheffler, meanwhile, heads to Albany looking to become the first golfer to win Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge three years in a row. 

Both superstars have enjoyed golden seasons.

• Rory McIlroy tells wife Erica Stoll "punch me" over Masters green jacket comments

McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam at Augusta in April and claimed a seventh Race to Dubai title earlier this month. 

Scheffler won six PGA Tour titles including the PGA Championship and The Open.

The World No.1 will now chase the career Grand Slam himself at the 2026 US Open – with the final round fittingly on his 30th birthday.

McIlroy got the better of Scheffler at the Ryder Cup in September, albeit the American beat the Northern Irishman in their singles match. 

Who will get end of season bragging rights at the Optum Golf Channel Games? 

We'll find out in three weeks. 

But Back to That  Poster…

Despite the excitement around the event itself, the AI-esque artwork has stolen the headlines. 

PGA Tour fans have been queuing up on X/Twitter to roast the uncanny visuals.

“Prison has changed Scheffler,” one fan joked.

“AI Scottie actually looks quite good!” wrote another.

“Who the F is that?!” asked one confused follower.

Another simply concluded: “Wow… this poster sucks.”

Some fans even suggested the “fake” versions of the players looked visibly miserable, prompting one user to quip: “To be fair to them, I look this miserable at work too.”

A few lamented the increasing reliance on AI in sports media: “Why are big companies relying on AI so much? They did all this before AI – and it was better!”

Will Golf Channel change it?

With only a few weeks to go, there’s no sign Golf Channel plans to swap out the uncanny-duo artwork. 

The poster still very much remains front and centre of their marketing campaign. 

But perhaps it was all done on purpose. 

The poster has already generated more buzz than a standard promo shot ever would – even if for all the wrong reasons.

Whether intentional or not, the Optum Golf Channel Games has already sparked conversation worldwide. 

Let’s just hope the players who show up on 17 December look a little more like the real McIlroy and Scheffler than the AI impostors currently doing the rounds.

What do you make of the Optum Golf Channel Games poster? 

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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