Tiger Woods and his Jupiter Links Golf Club team clinched a nail-biting 4-3 overtime victory against Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf squad in the most electrifying match of the inaugural TMRW Golf League (TGL) season.
The indoor golf showdown was neck and neck, but it was Woods’ teammates Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner who delivered clutch shots in overtime to secure the win.
Woods and McIlroy, co-founders of TGL, envisioned moments like this when they created the league, which features matches played in a custom-built arena in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
“It couldn’t have been a more enjoyable display of golf and banter,” Woods said after the match. “Everyone in the audience was engaged. We as players loved it. This is what we had envisioned for TGL, to have an experience like this, and I think we delivered.”
McIlroy, making his TGL debut alongside Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott, praised Woods for bouncing back after a tough 12-1 loss against the Los Angeles Golf Club earlier this month.
“He stepped up and delivered like he usually does,” McIlroy said. “It was a great match all night, back and forth, and exactly what the league needed.”
Woods had an eventful round that included a shot clock violation and a crucial seven-foot putt on the 13th hole, ultimately leading his team to victory.
The TGL’s debut attracted nearly a million viewers on ESPN, and McIlroy hopes the innovative league, which uses a five-story simulator screen and a high-tech green, will draw a new generation of fans to golf.
“It’s been really cool to hear that a younger demographic is resonating with this,” McIlroy said. “One of the visions when we started was to engage that younger demographic and give them a bite-sized version of golf that they could get into and understand, and hopefully we’ve done that.”
The 15-match regular season runs through March 4, followed by playoffs later that month.
