Tiger Woods’s Team Routed As New TGL Simulator Golf League Sees Another Blowout – Sports Illustrated

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — By the time Tiger Woods’s tee shot on the 13th hole came up short in an imaginary hazard on the huge simulator screen, his Jupiter Links team had long been left to take the barbs and resort to self-deprecating humor in an attempt to salvage an otherwise forgettable evening.Woods, one of the founders of the TGL, short for Tech Golf League, hit the opening tee shot at the SoFi Center and found the fairway, one of the few bright spots as his team was throttled 12-1 by the Los Angeles Golf Club in the second week of the much-hyped tech-infused golf league.The 15-time major champion, who had a back procedure in September and played his first competitive rounds last month at the PNC Championship, looked good enough with the long shots based on the computer readings of how far he was hitting the ball, topping out at more than 300 yards when using the driver.But his short game was sketchy and he got no help from teammate Kevin Kisner, who had Woods in tears late in the match when the now part-time player and NBC analyst bladed a bunker shot that clanked off the pin. The third member of the team, Max Homa, wondered “if they are going to kick us out of the league.”⚠️ pic.twitter.com/MPRVEBPky2Much like last week’s TGL opener, the outcome was decided early on.“I think we might not break 100,” Woods said on the ESPN broadcast. “We’ve had about five balls in the hazard. I flubbed a bunker shot, Kiz almost killed somebody … ”Woods took it all in stride, keeping the vibe of what is supposed to be fun endeavor, a made-for-TV show.“We were entertaining,” Woods said. “We hit a lot of shots. I think the people got to see how bad pros can be. It was just a boat race, oh my goodness. But we had a great time. I don’t know what our teammate Tom Kim was thinking. Oh my God.”Each TGL team has four members but only three play during the competition, so Kim sat out this time.As for his own game and health, Woods said: “As far as playing, I walked all three rounds at PNC (last month), had a great time there, and the walking’s not the issue. It’s my game is not very good.”The L.A. team is made up of two players from Southern California, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala, along with Justin Rose, who returned from playing the DP World Tour’s Team Cup in Abu Dhabi over the weekend. The fourth member of their team is Tommy Fleetwood.Much like last week, when The Bay Golf Club got out to a fast lead on the way to a 9-2 victory, this week’s competition was over before the 15-hole match was complete. All of the holes are played regardless.Woods, who is a part owner of the Jupiter Links team and also in TMWR Sports, which has TGL as its first property, wasn’t going to let a lopsided result dampen any enthusiasm he has for the concept.“This is unique,” he said. “This is something that golf has never seen before. To have an arena like this and to be able to go out there with great guys, entertain everyone, just have fun. The new tech—I know my family were blown away with the enormity of the space, and then on top of that, the rotating green.“It’s really great. It’s intimate. I think that’s one of the cool things about it. It’s about entertaining. We had a laugh.”TGL will need to be more competitive for the entertainment feature to have more meaning.With each hole worth a point and the ability to use what’s called a hammer to increase the value of a hole by a point, Woods’s team was down 5-0 through five holes and 8-1 through nine.The remaining six holes are two-man matches with each player competing in two of the holes. Woods played against Rose and on the par-5, 616-yard hole hit a 303-yard drive but couldn’t dial in a 55-yard wedge shot and ended up three-putting to lose the hole.“Obviously a huge honor to be out here playing my first one,” Rose said. “It was awesome to play against Jupiter Links and obviously have Tiger walk out to ‘Eye of the Tiger.’ That was a cool moment. You’re sitting there as a competitor and you appreciate everything that Tiger has done and how this has all come about, and it was fun to play against him and his team in our first match.“But the gun goes off, they throw the hammer, and it’s game on.”And it was over almost as soon as it started.Bob Harig is a senior writer covering golf for Sports Illustrated. He has more than 25 years experience on the beat, including 15 at ESPN. Harig is a regular guest on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio and has written two books, “DRIVE: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods” and “Tiger and Phil: Golf’s Most Fascinating Rivalry.” He graduated from Indiana University where he earned an Evans Scholarship, named in honor of the great amateur golfer Charles (Chick) Evans Jr. Harig, a former president of the Golf Writers Association of America, lives in Clearwater, Fla.
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