The Golf League, or “TGL,” as it has become commonly known, has redefined the term “stadium golf” in its inaugural season. Golf fans far and wide, from weekend hackers to celebrity tournament players, have filled the stands. Each of the six teams has completed the 15 regular-season matches at the state-of-the-art SoFi Center on the Palm Beach State College campus.
The venue can be described as a combination of Top Golf, the target driving range amusement chain that has been gaining popularity across the US. Mix in a well-groomed par three hole at your local pitch and putt course. Finally, allow viewers cheering in the stands and those tuning in at home through ESPN, access to the massive screen and virtual golf video board.
This is the scene where some of the absolute best players in the game have squared off in team play. With the annual NCAA basketball tournament set to begin in the coming days, TGL will be winding down with its own new brand of final-four excitement. Four of the six regular season teams remain—a whose who of current golf fame.
The Atlanta Drive GC foursome features Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas—the Bay Club, with Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg. Sneaking in with the fourth spot are New York GC, with Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele. The skilled Los Angeles GC team, consisting of Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose, Sahith Theegala, and Tommy Fleetwood, earned the number one seed for the March 17/18 final tournament.
Unfortunately, the 5th and 6th place teams, the ones that were captained by the two most prominent names in golf over the past 25 years, were officially eliminated. The incomparable Tiger Woods and fellow golf legend Rory McIlroy had teams equally as stacked as any of the other TGL foursomes. Tiger, with his Jupiter Links GC team, was only able to seal one victory in the format that Tiger himself was said to have mapped out and built as his very own business plan.
McIlroy, dressed in Irish green, led a team consisting of PGA major championship winners Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott, and Hideki Matsuyama. Unfortunately, McIroy’s Boston Common Golf team failed to achieve a single victory over the other All-Star squads that comprised TGL’s six-team division.
The question is: Who will tune in and watch now that the teams led by the two most prominent names in the indoor golf experiment have been eliminated? Ratings for the first airing of the league play on January 7th were modest. The program peaked in week 2, with over 1 million viewers tuning in after 9 pm EST to watch Tiger Woods compete on ESPN.
The ratings then steadily declined. Even with some drama in the final week, with Tiger’s Jupiter Links GC fighting to grab the fourth and final playoff spot, it was not to be.
“As an overall big picture of this, we’re trying to grow the game into different demographics, and I think we have. This indoor simulation here is – I think has brought more youth to the game. The fact that we’re able to play on ESPN and during primetime, we don’t get a chance to do that very often,” – Tiger Woods
Now, the final TGL event will have the unenviable task of trying to generate interest one day after the final round of The Players Championship, one of the most popular golf events of the year. With the NCAA tournament also happening at the same time as the TGL final four, the finale does need Tiger Woods to play in some capacity. Overall, it definitely seems deflating that his team was eliminated.
There is an undeniably entertaining component to the TGL presentation that golf fanatics everywhere can get into. Golfers are mic’d up and offer up some hilarious puns, jabs, and an overall jovial approach to what would otherwise be serious competition. It is the kind of golf that a foursome of buddies can relate to. For that reason alone, TGL is probably here to stay.
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