The highly anticipated debut of the GOAT ended with his team enduring a crushing defeat.
The return of a legend did not go as planned, albeit through much anticipation. Former Stanford legend, Tiger Woods, had not played a single match of competitive golf since the 2024 Open Championship, with an injury-filled last couple of years forcing him to take on more of a part-time PGA tour schedule. But all that changed on Tuesday night when Woods made his highly anticipated TGL debut.
The co-creator of the new interactive golf league, along with fellow PGA tour mate Rory McIlroy and business partner Mike McCarley, Woods played in his first match as a member of Jupiter Links Golf Club when they took on Los Angeles Golf Club. However, things quickly went south for Tiger, as his team quickly fell behind to ultimately lost, 12-1.
Jupiter Links found themselves down early, trailing 5-0 through the match’s first four holes. Scoring their lone point on the sixth hole, Jupiter was unable to overcome the strong performances of Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala, who all were able to add three more holes to LA’s score during the singles round.
Woods, who enjoyed a loud entrance as he walked out of the tunnel to the song ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ immediately looked to get his team ahead, throwing down the hammer before he even teed off. The hammer, which increases the value of a hole from one point to either two or three points, adds another unique element to an already revolutionary league.
The second and third holes saw Jupiter Links fall even further behind, with Woods hitting the water on the second and Rose sinking a 10-foot birdie putt on the third hole to add even more to LA’s total. On hole four, Woods had the opportunity to tie the hole on seven-foot bogey putt, but was unable to convert on the shot, missing it wide, causing L.A. to once again take a bigger lead.
Despite scoring their lone point on that eighth hole, Woods and his team were unable to keep chipping away, resulting in the Jupiter Links trailing 8-1 heading into the 10th hole (which is the start of singles play). Tying Rose on the tenth hole, Morikawa was able to take the 11th hole for L.A. as well as the team taking the 12th hole as well to really pull away.
Woods’ final opportunity of the night came on the 13th hole. Hitting his tee shot into a hazard, Woods was then forced to play out of the bunker, and after needing two shots in order to get out of it, Jupiter once again lost the hole. The final two holes saw Morikawa and Theegala seal it for Los Angeles, giving Woods and his team their first loss of the season.
We may not see much of Woods during the PGA season, but thanks to this revolutionary new way for fans to enjoy the great game of golf in a more low-stress and a more entertainment-based atmosphere, watching one of the greatest golfers, and one of the most iconic athletes, is something all of us can look forward to in 2025.
