Pro golfer Justin Thomas and Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz were the first winners in the Netflix Cup, which had quite a bit going on in this first-of-a-kind event Tuesday at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.
The duo hoisted the Cup together in the postmatch ceremony, with Thomas then drinking from the Cup. Then Sainz had his turn, and he dropped the trophy, which broke.
Thomas and Sainz defeated the tandem of Tony Finau and Pierre Gasly in the closest-to-pin contest on the final hole after the four-team field was cut in half following eight holes of match play.
The competition qualified as silly at times, but the spectators lining the course to watch seemed to find it entertaining.
A number of celebrities were on hand for the event, which also included controversial topics.
Protesters, apparently representing PETA, came onto the course to demand that F1, with parent company Liberty Media, to cut ties with the Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska.
While golf was the designated sport, it was far from any typical round.
There were plenty of antics with the golf itself. For instance, on the first tee, four golfers teed off at the same time and then raced to their golf carts, following the designated “race course” onto the fairway to get to their balls. Golfers raced to get to the green and to see who could arrive fastest, locate their golf balls and then putt amid the mayhem on the greens.
As part of the race to get to the greens, golfer Rickie Fowler was driving the cart with F1 driver Lando Norris as the passenger.
The other team was Max Homa-Alex Albon. Finau was credited with the competition’s first birdie.
This competition was a prelude to the weekend’s Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix.
This was Netflix’s first live airing of a sports event.