Who won the Netflix Cup? Winners and results explored
The first-ever Netflix Cup took place at the Wynn Golf Club in Wynn Las Vegas on Tuesday, November 14, marking the streaming service's first live sporting event. Justin Thomas and Carlos Sainz won the event, defeating Tony Finau and Pierre Gasly in a nail-biting closest-to-the-pin match on the last hole of the game. Sainz and Gasly missed on the green, giving Thomas the opportunity to win with a shot that fell closer to the pin than Finau's.
There were a few obstacles in the way of victory for Thomas and Sainz. The duosquared off against Lando Norris and Rickie Fowler first, easily defeating them. Finau and Gasly, on the other hand, fought Max Homa and Alex Albon for a longer period of time before earning a berth in the championship match.
Thomas and Sainz proved to be the Netflix Cup's worthy winners, showcasing their strength throughout the Netflix Cup competition. After winning the match, Sainz reacted (via Inside Golf):
“I didn’t honestly think I could get it there, cause I thought [Tony Finau’s shot] was gonna be nice, so I just hit a little sling hook in there,” Thomas said in an interview after the match. “I was glad to finally help my partner out.”
He added:
“We are the first-ever Netflix Cup winners so it deserves … yeah, we’ll go out [tonight].”
A Star-Studded Combination of Golf and Motorsports in Las Vegas
Comedian Bert Kreischer, NFL legend Marshawn Lynch, PGA TOUR player Joel Dahmen, and sportscaster Kay Adams served as the event's hosts. Notable celebrities including Mark Wahlberg, Blake Griffin, Steve Aoki, Collin Morikawa, and Patrick Mahomes made surprise cameos, which increased the enthusiasm even more. The Netflix Cup, which brought motorsports and golf together, was a vibrant and celebrity-filled occasion.
In line with the show's intensity, The Netflix Cup raised the stakes: hitting a hole-in-one on the par-3 hole would result in a noteworthy $4.56 million donation to charity. Despite no one accomplishing the elusive hole-in-one, the absence of red light rule violations led to a substantial $456,000 donation. This meaningful contribution was directed to the Las Vegas Grand Prix Foundation, supporting their Million Meals Project dedicated to providing at least one million meals to communities facing food insecurity.
The night was lively and entertaining, with a somewhat more relaxed pace than anticipated. The focus on golf seemed to play second fiddle to the grand celebration in Las Vegas, commemorating the city's first-ever Formula 1 race set to take place on Saturday evening.