TGL got off to a rip-roaring start on Tuesday night inside the So-Fi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida – bright lights, pumping music and lots – I mean, lots – of influencers; WWE-like player introductions; ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt waxing poetic on the broadcast.
And then it was Shane Lowry’s turn to hit the first shot in league history.
There was just one problem: He forgot his tee.
“There was all sorts going on,” Lowry said. “Yeah, I was a little bit nervous.”
Lowry quickly recovered, teaming with The Bay Golf Club comrades Ludvig Aberg and Wyndham Clark to deliver a 9-2 win over New York Golf Club in the inaugural matchup for the indoor golf league backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who were both in the crowd for opening night.
Fifteen holes of this innovative take on simulator golf were played inside the 250,000-square-foot arena that features a screen 24 times that of a regular simulator and a 22,475-square-foot, turfed short-game area complete with a revolving virtual green, where Aberg rolled in a 15-footer on the opening hole for the league’s first birdie.
A hole later, Aberg became the first TGL player to find a penalty area, on the par-5 Pick Yer Plunder (hole of the night?), though The Bay still led 6-1 after nine holes of three-man alternate shot.
“I’ve always said that I’m so jealous of basketball and football players because they get to do this a lot and we don’t,” Aberg said while speaking to Van Pelt after the match. “So, this whole stadium-like feel … it gets you going a little bit different than a normal golf tournament.
Aberg added: “My heart was racing, I was sweating … it was a different competitive environment that we’re not really used to, but I think this is the future, this is where the game’s going to head, and I love it.”
That’s when DJ Khaled stepped in, interrupting the live TV interview, to drape a SportsCenter Top 10 chain around Aberg’s neck. Khaled was shown seconds into the broadcast and was also interviewed by ESPN’s Marty Smith while Matt Fitzpatrick hit a shot; Fitzpatrick’s ball nearly rolled off a cliff, too, while Khaled rambled.
OK, so it wasn’t a perfect debut, but there’s a nice foundation to build on.
The shot clock, “enforced” by NBA ref Derrick Stafford, kept a swift pace. The banter was solid, especially from best-on-the-mic Xander Schauffele, Lowry and Clark, who could be heard chirping at Woods after Woods said during his time in the booth that New York, already down big, should be throwing the hammer to double the points (another complaint: why is the hammer a flag?).
“Tiger, have you ever played hammer?” Clark shouted. “They’re off the green!”
Schauffele throwing the hammer flag in front of Lowry right before a drive was good theatre, as was Rickie Fowler conceding a putt to Lowry before realizing the audience was unaware; Fowler then told Lowry to play along, and as Lowry struck his putt, Fowler tossed the flagstick down on the green to reject the ball.
The night wrapped with a 729-yard par-5, though by that time the buzz had simmered amid The Bay’s blowout. The match last just under 2 hours, finishing just after 11 p.m. ET. Next Tuesday night will see two new teams compete, as Woods is expected to make his TGL debut with Jupiter Links Golf Club, which will take on Collin Morikawa and Los Angeles Golf Club.
“This was just a dream conjured up,” Woods said during the broadcast. “Rory and I were talking about it; it’s hard to believe that dream came into reality and we were able to take golf into another stratosphere, really.”
