Of course, the 15-time major champion was in attendance to watch his and McIlroy’s vision come to life at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Woods watched as the Bay Golf Club washed New York Golf Club 9-2, and he even gave a bland, CEO-style broadcast booth interview mid-game. (Never change professional golf.)
But while Woods didn’t tee it up Tuesday night — his debut comes next Tuesday — he has unsurprisingly already hit the best shot in the TGL’s short history.
A video posted by TGL’s X account showed Woods detailing to McIlroy and TGL CEO and co-founder Mike McCarley how he hit the small camera above the giant simulator screen on the first try.
Golf fans will now talk of the TGL camera shot in the same breath as Woods’ chip-in birdie at the 2005 Masters and his putt to send the 2008 U.S. Open to a playoff. I kid, but seeing The Cat in action is always cool, no matter the setting.
As for the TGL, its debut involved a rule change that fans loved, some corporate activations, an unneeded interview with DJ Khaled, and some poor golf from New York Golf Club (Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Xander Schauffele).
The best thing going for TGL on night one was the pace of play, the players being invested in every shot and getting to show some more of their personalities, and that — good or bad — it made golf fans feel something which is all too rare outside of the four majors and the Ryder Cup.
Time will tell if TGL can keep people interested or if the interest fades after Woods and McIlory both make their debuts in the coming weeks.
Josh Schrock is a writer and reporter for Golf.com. Before joining GOLF, Josh was the Chicago Bears insider for NBC Sports Chicago. He previously covered the 49ers and Warriors for NBC Sports Bay Area. A native Oregonian and UO alum, Josh spends his free time hiking with his wife and dog, thinking of how the Ducks will break his heart again, and trying to become semi-proficient at chipping. A true romantic for golf, Josh will never stop trying to break 90 and never lose faith that Rory McIlroy’s major drought will end (updated: he did it). Josh Schrock can be reached at josh.schrock@golf.com.
