Tiger Woods certainly saw the bright side as his TGL team was completely wiped out on Tuesday night.
The 15-time major winner made his long-awaited debut in the indoor simulator league – which he co-founded with Rory McIlroy and sporting director Mike McCarley.
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Woods raced Jupiter Golf Links and raised hopes of an electric performance with exit to “Return of the Mac” and dropped the hammer on his opening tee shot, which streaked down the virtual fairway.
However, the recovering 49-year-old would find himself on the receiving end of a total hiding, losing 12-1 to Los Angeles Golf Club – represented by Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala.
Playing alongside Kevin Kisner and Max Homa, Woods bordered on the ridiculous at times, hitting reckless shots and even losing track of his score.
The night culminated when Kisner, who now spends more time broadcasting than playing at the elite level, knifed a bunker shot into the pin, sending the 1,500-strong crowd at the SoFi Center into red alert.
Homa ducked for cover, Woods almost cried with laughter – and it got even funnier when Kisner almost held the chip shot that came back.
“We honestly didn’t think anyone could get hit here,” Woods said.
“It was honestly one of the funniest things I’ve seen. And then the chip shot, the next one, should have gone in.
“It was just one of those weird nights.”
At one point, Kisner turned to Wood’s son Charlie in the crowd and asked if the 15-year-old prodigy wanted to replace him, as Homa speculated if they could be relegated.
After a similar hammering for New York Golf Club on the opening night, the competitive element is still missing in TGL.
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Fans continue to enjoy it as a made-for-TV entertainment product, and Kisner’s misery was part of the fun.
But many are still dumbfounded by the Jupiter Golf Links roster, especially considering Woods’ role in organizing the league.
The golf icon, who recently underwent yet another operation, is competing sparingly as he continues to deal with the effects of his near-fatal car accident in 2021.
Kisner missed 17 cuts in 23 PGA Tour events in 2024 — and even Homa has been questions why he is on the team.
Three-time Tour winner Tom Kim completes his line-up, although he was on the bench for Tuesday night’s match.
One fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Tiger creating a golf league and giving himself the worst team is giving off some major Michael Jordan GM vibes.”
What is TGL?
Simply put, TGL is an indoor simulator golf league featuring the game’s best players.
It will take place in a super high-tech arena called the SoFi Center in Florida with a live audience of around 1,500 people.
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods were the ones who came up with it, with the help of a guy named Mike McCarley, as part of their TMWR Sports venture.
It has a bunch of big investors, like Serena Williams, Lewis Hamilton and Fenway Sports Group – who own it Liverpool. ESPN and Sky Sports are registered to broadcast it.
How do they compete?
There are six teams of four, all franchises based in American cities, and all top-tier PGA Tour player. No LIV golfers.
It’s a weekly head-to-head matchup lasting just two hours for a primetime TV slot in the States.
There will also be a 40-second shot clock and timeouts and referees to enforce the rules. All players are connected to ensure maximum entertainment value.
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How does it work?
For shots longer than 50 yards, players will hit into this enormous screen, which is 53 feet high and 64 feet wide.
That’s about 24 times the size of your normal golf simulator. They play on real grass, the rough and fairways will be reflected on the surface, and it even moves to reflect the slope.
The green complex has 600 motorized sensors underneath it and 360 degrees of rotation to simulate the exact real-life scenario the players face.
The bunkers have the same sand as Augusta National, and they’ve even thought about the direction of the grain around the greens.
Format
Each team chooses three players, they play 15 holes. The first nine holes are “Trebles” – three-on-three match play, where each player takes turns hitting the shots.
The last six holes are “singles” – one-on-one match play where each player plays two holes.
If everything is square after 15, they go to extra time and play closest to the pin.
Teams receive two points for a regular-season win, two points for an overtime win, one point for an overtime loss, and zero points for a regular-season loss.
There will be playoffs in March with semi-finals and a final to decide the league’s overall winner – with a $21 million purse to be split between the players.
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Law
Atlanta Drive GC
• Patrick Cantlay
• Lucas Glover
• Billy Horschel
• Justin Thomas
Boston Common Golf
• Keegan Bradley
• Hideki Matsuyama
• Rory McIlroy
• Adam Scott
The Bay Golf Club
• Ludvig Aberg
• Wyndham Clark
• Shane Lowry
• Min Woo Lee
Jupiter Links Golf Club
• Max Homa
• Tom Kim
• Kevin Kisner
• Tiger Woods
Los Angeles Golf Club
• Tommy Fleetwood
• Collin Morikawa
• Justin Rose
• Sahith Theegala
New York Golf Club
• Matt Fitzpatrick
• Rickie Fowler
• Xander Schauffele
• Cameron Young
