by TGL is gearing up for its most anticipated match and hopes the league’s founders – Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy – can help get it off to a strong start.
The high-tech indoor golf league features Woods’ Jupiter Links GC and McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf Monday, the only time this season the two men who are the face of TGL meet. The game, at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN.
The league saw good ratings in the first three weeks, averaging 869,000 viewers. Its highest ratings came in the second week, when just over a million people watched Woods’ debut, which ended with Los Angeles defeating Jupiter, 12-1.
Now that McIlroy’s team is set to play for the first time and he and Woods face off in singles action, TGL could be in for its best night of the young season.
More: Where is TGL Golf located? What you need to know about SoFi Center, Tiger Woods’ golf league arena
Jupiter’s lineup includes Woods, Kevin Kisner and Tom Kim. Max Homa is seated.
Boston Common will send 2025 Ryder Cup captain McIlroy and Jupiter residents Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott. Hideki Matsuyama is inactive.
Boston Common, Rory McIlroy big favorite against Jupiter, Tiger Woods
Boston Common is a heavy favorite at nearly -250. Its three golfers are in the top 25 in the world rankings. McIlroy is No. 3, Bradley No. 13 and Scott No. 21.
Both local legends — Woods lives on Jupiter Island, McIlroy has a residence in Jupiter — were on hand at TGL’s Jan. 7 unveiling, a 9-2 victory for The Bay over New York. This inaugural match attracted 919,000 viewers. After Woods’ debut, week three, which was another one-sided game with Atlanta blanking New York, 4-0, averaged 682,000 viewers.
The average after three weeks represents a 50% increase for ESPN compared to the same time slots in 2024. Additionally, TGL caters to a younger audience with an average age of 51 compared to the NHL (52 years), the Premier League. (53), F1 (53), NFL (54), NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball (57) and MLB (60).
The NBA audience is younger with an average age of 50.
For three weeks, 43% of TGL’s audience was made up of 18-49 year olds, which dominates all major sports leagues.
“If you’re a complete traditionalist of the game, it’s probably not for you, but that’s OK,” McIlroy said two weeks ago from Dubai where he was competing in the Desert Classic. “That’s not the audience we’re targeting.
“It’s about trying to get a younger demographic involved in the game. We’re certainly not trying to replace tournament golf. We hope it will be complementary to what we do week in and week out, and if we can get more of it to the young people and the people, this sort of TikTok generation in the game of golf and condense it into a miniature version that they can enjoy and relate to in a different way, that’s. really what we’re trying to do here.
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for the Palm Beach Post. He can be contacted at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
Monday’s TGL matchJupiter Links GC vs. Boston CommonSoFi Center, Palm Beach Gardens6:30 p.m., ESPN
This article was originally published on Palm Beach Post: Tiger Woods’ team, underdog against Rory McIlroy, in first TGL meeting
