PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Ludvig Åberg would be the reply to a trivia query: He made the primary birdie in TGL historical past.
And with that, the indoor golf competitors that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy had envisioned for years was lastly underway.
TGL had its debut match Tuesday night time, with Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele of New York Golf Membership taking up Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark and Aberg of The Bay Golf Membership within the opener. The 15-hole match took just below two hours, which is strictly how TGL envisioned this to work. Ultimate rating: The Bay 9, New York 2.
“The final time I’ve had that a lot enjoyable was most likely final September,” Lowry stated, turning towards Clark as he stated that — the plain reference being how he and Aberg have been a part of the European Ryder Cup group that beat Clark and the USA within the fall of 2023.
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Sure, trash discuss is a part of TGL as properly — even amongst teammates.
“Look, I had an incredible two hours,” Lowry stated.
Lowry struck the primary shot at 9:15 p.m. 4 minutes later, the primary gap in TGL historical past was full when Aberg rolled in a 9-footer for the primary level in league play. Sure, it strikes that rapidly.
“This was only a dream conjured up,” Woods stated on the ESPN broadcast. “Rory and I have been speaking about it; it is arduous to imagine that dream got here into actuality and we have been capable of take golf into one other stratosphere, actually.”
Woods and McIlroy — a part of the mind belief that put collectively this enterprise — have been there, as anticipated. DJ Khaled was there too, milling about whereas gamers have been warming up, exhibiting off his swing with an imaginary membership.
The venue is a 250,000-square-foot facility at Palm Seashore State School. Gamers hit some pictures right into a video display screen, some off actual grass, some off turf, and the bunkers will not be simply actual sand — it is sand from Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership, the identical sand Woods has at his residence follow facility. It is super-high-tech, with knowledge collected off each shot.
“No one had extra enjoyable than us,” Clark stated.
Gamers wore microphones, there have been betting choices and followers surrounded the “course” in an intimate enviornment the place music blared and noise was welcomed.
“A glorified man collapse a approach,” Fowler stated.
As soon as groups moved inside 50 yards of the pin, they headed to a short-game complicated — with a inexperienced that sits on a 41-yard-wide turntable and has about 600 units beneath to alter the contours. Gamers stated it was troublesome to make putts, which is likely to be comprehensible.
Followers cheered. And so they booed — just a little, anyway. Schauffele heard these after he botched a chip, a part of an evening when not a lot went proper for his group.
“I most likely would have booed me too,” Schauffele stated.
The gamers appeared to like it. Lowry had one-liner after one-liner. A few examples:
“I’ll be the Scottie Scheffler of indoor golf.”
“A bit like myself. A bit chunky,” he stated after one shot got here up a contact brief.
It ended with a 729-yard par-5 — a reachable 729-yard par-5, if that makes any sense. Handshakes and cheers throughout when it was over, Lowry gave an enormous wave to the followers and the night time was performed.
“A lot enjoyable,” Aberg stated.
Woods beloved it when some followers have been, as an instance, not precisely quiet as Clark lined up a putt on one of many early holes.
“You do not usually hear that at occasions,” Woods stated. “You are going to hear that right here.”
Woods is anticipated to debut for his Jupiter Hyperlinks membership Jan. 14. McIlroy’s debut might be Jan. 27 when Boston Widespread performs Jupiter Hyperlinks. The common season goes till March 4. There are 24 gamers — six groups of 4 — and the highest 4 groups advance to the playoffs with a best-of-three championship collection two weeks earlier than the Masters.
Every group prompts three gamers for a match, and the 15-hole competitions can be performed in about two hours. It will all be proven on ESPN platforms, usually in prime time. The league has been within the works for just a few years; the unique plan was for it to start out final 12 months, however a storm slowed development and organizers pushed the debut again to 2025.
“It is not conventional golf, sure,” Woods stated. “However it’s golf. And that is the primary factor.”
And, as Fowler identified, the gang within the enviornment is one factor, however how tv viewers settle for will probably be the massive take a look at.
“If it does properly there, the sky is the restrict with what you are able to do,” Fowler stated. “You may put up arenas in other places. That is simply the beginning.”