TGL: How did players find the opening night of the new indoor golf league launched by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy?
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were in attendance as The Bay Golf Club thrashed New York Golf Club 9-2 in the opening match of the new TGL season; Shane Lowry and Ludvig Åberg played key roles in the win; watch the TGL exclusively live this season on Sky Sports Golf
Thursday 9 January 2025 07:17, UK
TGL stands for Tomorrow’s Golf League and - based on the opening night - is going to offer us a version of the sport that is like nothing we have seen before.
The tech-infused indoor golf league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy finally got under way on Tuesday, a year later than scheduled, with both in attendance at the purpose-built SoFi Center in Florida to see the launch of their new format.
"This was just a dream conjured up," Woods said during the broadcast, with the made-for-TV format seeing matches taking place over 15 holes and across a league season. "It's hard to believe that dream came into reality and we were able to take golf into another stratosphere."
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Shane Lowry, Ludvig Åberg and Wyndham Clark represented The Bay Golf Club as they faced New York Golf Club trio Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele, with the six among 24 PGA Tour stars set to tee it up in the event - across six teams - over the coming months.
The golf itself may have been more one-sided than potentially envisaged, with The Bay Golf Club having victory confirmed with five holes to spare and eventually running out 9-2 winners, but the format appears to be something the players enjoyed.
"The last time I've had that much fun was probably last September," Lowry said, in a reference aimed at team-mate Clark about Europe's 2023 Ryder Cup victory. "I think some weeks can be like monotonous and tough, but this is just something different and something fun."
Golfer hit some shots into a large screen and others from the short-game complex - using a mixture of grass, turf and sand - with spectators fitting around the TGL's specifically-designed 'course' to add to the atmosphere.
Loud cheers and walk-on music welcomed players one-by-one into the venue, with 'Empire State Of Mind' played for the New York GC players, while all the golfers were mic'd up throughout the match.
"It was awesome," Åberg admitted. "I always said I was so jealous of basketball and football players because they get to do this a lot and we don't. This whole stadium-like feel is awesome to be a part of, and it gets you going a little bit differently from a normal golf tournament."
'You can make the TGL bigger'
A shot clock is used to increase the pace of play and world-class golf course design companies have created the virtual part of the specially-designed holes, with every shot live on TV and huge volumes of date available to analyse.
"There's a bunch of cool things you could do with this [TGL]," Clark admitted. "I feel like the possibilities are almost endless. You can put a stadium in each one of the cities that owns a team.
"You could change the golf holes to where they're tailor made for The Bay Golf Club so that it's holes just for us, and that's our home course advantage. There's so many different things you could do. You could obviously make it bigger.
"I think as this continues to grow, and I really think it will, we get better at playing the game and obviously the trash talking, I think as there starts to become rivalries between teams and more banter, I think people are going to enjoy it.
"The SoFi Center is unbelievable. The technology is amazing. We're having a lot of fun. I just hope it translates to viewership and I think it will. It's the most fun we've ever had playing golf, and I just think people love seeing us have fun and smile, and maybe it gets big."
What's next?
The inaugural season continues January 14, with Woods' Jupiter Links Golf Club up against a Los Angeles Golf Club headlined by two-time major champion Collin Morikawa.
Coverage begins from 2am on Wednesday January 15, live on Sky Sports Golf, with the match repeated later that day. New York Golf Club are back in action on January 22 against Atlanta Drive GC (12am start UK time), while The Bay Golf Club return with two matches on February 17.
Who will win the inaugural TGL season and the SoFi Cup? Watch every match of the 2025 and 2026 seasons exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, majors and more with NOW.
