The first game of TGL took place in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with Matt Fitzpatrick a part of the New York Golf Club team taking on The Bay Golf Club
Matt Fitzpatrick was left red-faced and apologising to his New York Golf Club teammates Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele after fluffing his opening shot in TGL on Tuesday. The inaugural game of TGL, a new indoor league founded by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods in partnership with the PGA Tour, took place in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
The SoFi Center, a specially designed venue fitted with cutting-edge golfing technology, was constructed to host TGL’s first season. Games between teams will take place each week until March, just before the PGA Tour season hits its peak months.
There was huge anticipation at the SoFi Center ahead of Tuesday’s game between New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club, a team made up of Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, and Shane Lowry. Woods, McIlroy, and various celebrities watched on in attendance.
The pressure was on former US Open champion Fitzpatrick as he hit New York’s second shot of the night, but he scuffed his effort way to the left. That led to jeers and mocking from the crowd, as the Englishman laughed off his mistake on prime time TV.
“I’m just warming up,” Fitzpatrick laughed as he made his way back to his teammates. “Sorry about that,” he quiickly added to Fowler and Schauffele.
It proved to be a sign of things to come for New York, as The Bay raced into a 6-0 lead in Florida. They eventually won 9-2 against Fitzpatrick’s team.
Golf enthusiasts have been eagerly anticipating the launch of TGL. The formation of TGL was announced in August 2022 by McIlroy, Woods, and sports executive Mike McCarley, with construction of the SoFi Center commencing in February 2023 for a 2024 start.
However, the league’s debut was postponed until 2025 after a storm damaged the arena during its construction. A host of sports stars, including Steph Curry, Shaquille O’Neal, Josh Allen, Lewis Hamilton, Kevin Durant, Shohei Ohtani, and Serena Williams, have invested in TGL.
Some of the PGA Tour’s biggest names – such as Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa, and Tommy Fleetwood – have agreed to participate in TGL. However, Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth, as well as anyone from LIV Golf, are not involved.
“The first thing I would like people to know is it’s golf, but it’s reimagined, sort of trying to take golf into the 21st century,” McIlroy explained. “We have teams, obviously there’s a lot of technology involved, trying to bring it into the digital era. A lot of things that we’ve taken from other sports like a shot-clock, a timeout, things that you don’t see in regular golf.”
McIlroy himself won’t be playing until his team, Boston Common Golf, faces off against Tiger Woods and Jupiter Links Golf Club on Monday, January 27. Woods is set to make his debut when his team takes on Los Angeles Golf Club on Tuesday, January 14.
