We’re trying to not be hasty. We’re trying to be realistic. We’re trying to be patient, even. (And maybe we’re failing!) But the TGL is undoubtedly good fun, having lived up to many of its lofty promises in its debut this week. To see a golf brand actually deliver what it said it would seems oddly special in this moment, but it only encourages you to wonder … what could TGL look like at its peak?
Or rather, who could get involved at its peak?
Opening night at the SoFi Center was undoubtedly a success. Following it is Tiger Woods’ debut on the mixed-reality setup, coming Tuesday. The league will have no problem marketing that (and the rest of Woods’ appearances) via the primetime reach of ESPN. But as the season pushes forward and any remaining kinks in the system are hammered out, it will become apparent that the TGL has a ton of talent — just not all the talent.
With just six teams of four players each, many of the biggest names in the sport are involved, but many others are not. Which is the first thing I think of when discussing TGL’s room for growth toward its theoretical ceiling. Who else could get involved to make arena golf as big as it can be?
The answer isn’t necessarily Scottie Scheffler, the best player in the world. Nor is it Jordan Spieth, the three-time major champion who remains popular as ever but who is also recovering from a wrist injury that required surgery. Both players hail from Texas and both would make TGL a stronger product, no doubt. But both had the option of joining, and both declined. Spieth and Scheffler weren’t interested in adding extra travel to their schedules as they raise young families in Dallas.
Rather, there’s another Dallas resident who would provide all the popularity of Spieth and most of the performance of Scheffler. It’s Bryson DeChambeau.
DeChambeau seems custom made for TGL, with his analytics-heavy approach. The spin rates measured and spit out on screen by TGL simulators — DeChambeau could recite them from feel himself. The ever-changing slopes of the shape-shifting green would send him spinning — in a you-can’t-look-away kind of way. (Whether he likes it or not, a frustrated DeChambeau is almost as entertaining as giddy DeChambeau.)
The man loves being on camera, and performing at the center of our collective attention. Look no further than the moments after his U.S. Open win at Pinehurst, where he joined Live From on Golf Channel, coaching Johnson Wagner on how to hit the bunker shot that won the title for DeChambeau. He practices fist-pump celebrations in the mirror. Every day of his current life is a content day.
You can imagine DeChambeau racing to the edge of the arena to rile up fans, acting as gladiatorial as pro golfers could possibly be. The monetary value of the TGL product is on television, but the real glue of this sports product is in the aura of the arena, where about half of the spectators sit in more muted hospitality zones. For, say, Week 7 of the TGL season to have juice, it’ll need golfers working hard to provide it, using more than just their 7-irons.
Another important element of DeChambeau: he’s not everyone’s cup of tea. He never has been. But DeChambeau has grown in popularity in recent months, due in large part to his content creation and alignment with various YouTube golfers. He has hosted extremely popular “Break 50” competitions with everyone from Tom Brady to president-elect Donald Trump. He even joined Trump on stage during election season.
All of which makes him very visible, but not necessarily beloved by all. (He also plays at a plodding enough pace that shot clock violations would certainly be in play.) Many PGA Tour loyalists have resisted the recent DeChambeau surge, holding firm against his leaving for LIV Golf and joining a lawsuit against the PGA Tour. His mere presence would add some guaranteed energy to the proceedings, knowing how much some of the TGL players would like to beat him. Or how much spectators may enjoy rooting against him.
Unfortunately, DeChambeau as TGL golfer isn’t in the cards … at least right now. He has his own team golf to worry about elsewhere, starting in Saudi Arabia in just a few weeks. And TGL is partly owned by the PGA Tour, which means no LIV golfers will be taking part, at least not before the Tour and the Saudi PIF finalize a deal that reunifies the sport. But could we see it happen down the road?
In a world where the Tour and the PIF finalize a deal, it would be among the first few questions asked. Getting DeChambeau to take part in the Players Championship would be high on the priority list, but slating him into the Tour’s shiny, new, tech-infused side-gig couldn’t be too far behind.
Would you like to see DeChambeau in the TGL? Who else would you rather see? Comments are welcomed by the author at sean.zak@golf.com.
