Week 2 of the TGL has arrived, and its biggest star is teeing it up.
Tiger Woods, a co-founder of the tech-infused simulator golf league (our Bob Harig wrote an excellent primer on TGL if you need to get up to speed), is making his debut with his Jupiter Links team, which Tuesday will include Max Homa and Kevin Kisner. Their opponent is Los Angeles Golf Club, with Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala and Justin Rose.
Follow here for live updates during the match.
For those who thought a TGL rout couldn’t be bigger than The Bay Golf Club’s 9-2 win in Week 1, think again. Los Angeles defeated Jupiter Links 12-1 on a night where, by Woods’s count, his team hit five balls into penalty areas.
Jupiter Links will play again Jan. 27 against Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf. Los Angeles will play again Feb. 4 against Boston Common.
Kisner provided the laugh of the night, hitting a rocket out of the greenside bunker on the 14th that hit the flagstick and bounded off the far side of the green. Then, amazingly, he almost holed the pitch from long range for par.
Woods wiped away tears from laughing so hard.
Woods could only manage a wry smile as his tee shot rolled into the water on the par-4 13th hole, and after a drop he hit into a greenside bunker. He then took two shots to get out of there, making a double-bogey 6. Rose won the hole with a conceded par and Los Angeles GC took an 10-1 lead.
Woods tied and lost his two holes in singles and is done for the night.
“When’s that Duke basketball game coming on?” Max Homa said.
The chatter is starting to go in that direction as Los Angeles leads 9-1 after 11 holes.
Los Angeles leads 8-1 after the triples session. On the 9th hole, Woods missed an 8-footer that would have tied the hole, which was a two-point hammer hole. Jupiter Links took a timeout before the putt to take a closer look, but Woods didn’t scare the hole with his attempt.
How dire is it getting for Jupiter Links? Late in the session, Kevin Kisner asked if another Woods wanted to join.
Woods played from the greenside bunker on the 8th hole, a unique experience in the SoFi Center arena, but his teammates never had a chance to hole a par putt as Justin Rose canned a 14-footer for birdie to extend Los Angeles’s lead to 6-1.
Woods hit an approach shot tight on the 6th hole and the birdie was conceded by Los Angeles, which was in a hazard off the tee, allowing Jupiter Links to finally get on the board at 5-1.
TGL is on the way to a second rout in as many weeks.
Los Angeles GC jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the 4th hole as Kevin Kisner rinsed an approach shot and Woods missed a 7-footer that would have tied the hole.
On the par-5 2nd hole, both teams hit second shots on the water and then Woods rinsed a wedge from 131 yards. “I don’t know how it went that far,” he said moments later.
Los Angeles GC won the hole to go up 1-0 in the match.
Just as Woods prepared to hit the opening tee shot of the match, he pulled out the hammer flag and dropped it. The hammer must be accepted by the other team or it forfeits the hole, which made the first hole worth two points.
Woods hit the fairway off the tee, as did Justin Rose for L.A., and the hole was ultimately tied with a par.
At the top of the broadcast, ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt interviewed Woods and asked him about seeing TGL come to life.
“It is a reality now,” Woods said. “To be able to showcase golf like this in prime time, I don’t think it gets any better than that.
“We’re going to have fun. I’ve got two unbelievable great talkers on my team, I think we’ll be giving each other crap more than the other team. We just want to showcase golf and have a lot of fun and entertain everyone who’s watching.”
During introductions, Woods was the last man out with the opening bars to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” blaring in the arena.
Our Bob Harig is on site and posted on X that Woods is expected to tee off first in the match. The first nine holes are played in a three-man alternate-shot format.
Max Homa hits from the 17th tee during the third round of The American Express golf tournament on ... [+] the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West in La Quinta,
The second TGL match took place Tuesday night as Tiger Woods' Jupiter Links Golf Club f
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — By the time Tiger Woods’s tee shot on the 13th hole came up short in an imaginary hazard on the huge simulator screen, his Jupit