Tiger wood And Rory McIlroy attended the opening match of the first edition TGL The season – the new high-tech indoor golf league that is trying to revolutionize golf – took place on Tuesday.
Bay Golf Club – comprised of Ludvig Åberg, Shane Lowry and Wyndham Clark – defeated New York Golf Club – comprised of Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick and Rickie Fowler – 9-2 over their 15 holes at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens. , Florida.
The competition, which was delayed for a year, had to wait a few more moments after Lowry forgot a tee for the new format’s first shot, but eventually the Irishman got underway, projecting his tee shot onto the big screen and on the fairway. .
It was a dominant performance for Bay Golf Club as they raced to an early 6-0 lead in front of a packed arena, with Lowry securing victory at the par-five 10th hole by beating Fowler to make it 7-1 with five holes remaining .
The entire event took place with smiles on the faces of everyone involved, with players on microphones throughout to be able to hear the interactions between the competitors. Lowry was undoubtedly the star of the show after delivering many humorous lines during the match, including: “I’m going to be the Scottie Scheffler indoor golf.
The players were introduced in a way very different from the traditional golf atmosphere, with loud music, smoke cannons and an announcer welcoming the players into the room like boxers before a fight.
There were also plenty of humorous moments to entertain spectators, including when Fowler threw the flag onto the green in front of Lowry’s ball to block his shot when Bay Golf Club’s victory was already sealed.
Woods and McIlroy – who co-founded TMRW Sports, the company that came up with the idea for the new format – were both on hand for the first-ever TGL match, with Woods joining the TGL broadcast at times to express his enthusiasm for the the action he was watching and also explains where the idea for TGL came from.
“It was just a dream made up,” Woods said. “Rory and I were talking about it; It’s hard to believe that this dream came true and that we were truly able to take golf to another stratosphere.
Woods added: “It’s not traditional golf, yes, but it’s golf. And that’s the main thing. »
After the opening match, many players spoke about how much they enjoyed TGL’s debut.
Lowry said he had an “incredible two hours.”
“The last time I had this much fun was probably last September,” he said, referring to his participation in Team Europe’s victorious exit at the Ryder Cup in 2023.
Åberg, who was also part of that European team, echoed Lowry’s sentiment.
“It was great,” the Swede said afterwards. “I’ve always said I’m very jealous of basketball and football players because they do that a lot and we don’t.
“So that stadium feel is great, and it allows you to experience it a little differently than a normal golf tournament.”
The second TGL match will take place on January 14 with Los Angeles Golf Club taking on Jupiter Links Golf Club where Woods is expected to make his TGL debut for Jupiter Links.
For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at CNN.com
