Tiger Woods’ TGL debut filled with intrigue: 4 storylines to watch

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s arena simulator golf league, TGL, returns Tuesday night after a successful debut, and this time, it’s bringing out the big gun.

After spending the first night of TGL in the broadcast booth and stands, Woods will make his league debut as his Jupiter Links GC team takes on Los Angeles GC. Max Homa and Kevin Kisner will join Woods, while LAGC will trot out Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose and Sahith Theegala.

Tiger’s (semi) return to golf is the headliner, but it’s just the jumping-off point for a night that’s full of potential for the innovative golf league.

Here are 4 story lines we’re watching:

1. Cat’s back

You’re telling me we’re going to get to watch Tiger Woods playing golf for two hours in the middle of January inside a state-of-the-art facility with no hills to walk?

I’m in.

Tiger’s TGL debut isn’t going to say anything about his ability to return to contention at major championships, but we’re going to get a chance to watch the greatest golfer of all time potentially put on a show while mic’d up alongside two of golf’s great trash talkers in Kisner and Homa.

Sprinkle in TGL’s unique hole designs — some good, some very bad — and you’ve got a recipe for a fun and definitely ridiculous two hours for golf fans to enjoy.

2. Will everyone beat the clock?

TGL’s shot clock was universally praised on the first night, with Rickie Fowler and Matt Fitzpatrick both suggesting the PGA Tour adopt some version of the idea.

No one on either side failed to beat the horn during TGL’s inaugural match. Based on the shot clock data released by TGL, Wyndham Clark took the longest to play his shots; Clark had an average time remaining of 15.85 seconds, while Fitzpatrick was second at 17.88 seconds.

The race against the clock will continue to be something to watch on Tuesday, especially on the greens with Homa and Rose using the AimPoint method. Will they stick to their process on TGL’s green complex, or have to find an AimPoint express method to beat the clock?

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3. Will singles be more interesting?

While the first night of TGL was fun, the excitement did drop off during the second hour when the match got to the singles portion. Perhaps that was a product of the shellacking Bay GC was putting on New York GC. Maybe it’s a flaw in the concept that the league must tinker with.

The entertainment value will inherently increase if the score is close and the banter is elevated. But what if it’s another blowout? What if Tiger, one of the great competitors in sports history, ratchets up the intensity and focus too much, and the trash talk disappears?

The final six holes will continue to be TGL’s most important every week. The league will grab viewers initially, especially on Tuesday, to watch Woods. But can it hold them as the match wears on?

4. Tiger’s anthem

As No Laying Up’s DJ Piehowski noted on X, whatever walk-out song Woods chooses for his TGL matches will become part of golf’s lexicon.

Will it be…

Eye of the Tiger?
Return of the Mack (Daddy Santa)?
(Sun Day) Red?

You’re on the clock, Tiger.