Monday night’s TGL match between Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links Golf Club and Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf had a little bit of everything.
We had a bizarre ruling involving ball placement on the green, a TIO ruling and…the first shot-clock violation in TGL history.
That unflattering distinction now belongs to none other than Tiger Woods.
Boston Common and Jupiter Links arrived at the 10th hole tied at one, with McIlroy and Woods going head-to-head on the first singles hole.
McIlroy made a birdie on the par-5 and Woods had eight feet left to tie the hole. But the 15-time major champion spent too long grinding over the putt, and time — players area allotted 40 seconds between shots — ran out on him, leading to the first TGL shot-clock violation, which gave the hole to McIlroy and Boston Common.
Both teams have two timeouts, so Woods and Jupiter could have saved themselves a point, but instead, Tiger once again made (simulator) golf history.
Just not the kind he’s accustomed to making.
The fourth night of TGL saw the league’s co-founders and needle-movers, Woods and McIlroy, deliver the most entertaining and competitive match to date, including the league’s first-ever overtime shootout, which Woods and Jupiter won.
It also delivered the first shot-clock violation — something the PGA Tour might need to adopt, given its pace-of-play issues.
But on a night of firsts for TGL, the buzzer going off as Woods lined up an 8-foot birdie putt will be the most memorable image of the simulator golf league’s early days.
