Tiger Woods’ TGL debut ended in disastrous defeat as Jupiter Links Golf Club was beaten 12-1 by Los Angeles Golf Club in the season opener.

The former world number one will join Max Homa and Kevin Kisner in the first event of the tech-laden golf league founded by Woods and Rory McIlroy’s company TMRW Sports. The company saw PGA Tour stars go head-to-head on the team, using a hybrid of virtual and real-life gaming.

Woods emerged from the tunnel to play in Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” match at SoFi Center, but his team quickly fell behind 5-0 after just four holes of the 15-hole tournament, which ended in the first nine. The hole uses alternating at-bats or triples to switch to the hole before singles.

They scored their only run in the sixth inning as LAGC closed out the game with an 8-1 advantage as Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose and Sahis Sigala (Sahith Theegala) added three holes in singles to extend the win by one shot. A contest between the two sides.

The victory moved Los Angeles Golf Club two points into a tie with Bayfront Golf Club, which beat New York Golf Club 9-2 in last week’s opener, to tie Woods with Woods atop the season-long SoFi Cup standings. Jupiter Links is tied for first place – last in the six-team league.

Tigers underperform in TGL opener

Woods immediately dropped the hammer, giving the team the opportunity to put pressure on their opponents by doubling the hole value, although both teams initially shared the spoils with par scores.

Homa and Woods both hit the water in the second seconds of a chaotic par 5, and although Sigala also found a snag, Jupiter Links won the hole with a bogey, while Rose won the next par 3. Caught a 10-foot birdie and won the victory with two points from the “Hammer”.

Jupiter Links added two more points with a “hammer” on the fourth hole after Kisner found the penalty area, and Woods couldn’t convert his seven-foot bogey putt to share the hole instead. Hit the ball from eight feet on the next hole to avoid falling further behind.

On the sixth hole, Sigala hit the tee shot into the hazard, and Morikawa missed the par putt, resulting in the loss of the hole. However, Rose won the eighth hole with a birdie, and the Los Angeles team won the sixth hole with the “Iron Hammer” Nine holes, leading 8-1 going into singles.

Rose and Woods tied with a bogey on the 10th, and par was enough for Morikawa to beat Kisner on the 11th, before Woods hit his tee shot into the hazard on the 13th and twice from the bunker. Hit the ball and ultimately lost the hole.

Woods and the players were hit by Kisner’s comical sand on the 14th hole, which hit the flag and flew to the other side of the playing field. Morikawa won the hole and Sigala won after Houma fumbled. The last hole.

Woods finds humor in tough loss

“We’re having fun,” Woods said. “We hit a lot of balls. I think people here, they see how bad the pros are. It’s just a boat race. Oh, my gosh. But we had a lot of fun.

“I don’t know how much (skill) was evident today; I don’t have any golf skills. Hey, it’s the start of a new year. We had a great time. Hopefully people tuned in to watch the entire broadcast. “

Regarding the Kisner incident on the 14th hole, Woods added: “Honestly, we didn’t think anyone could get hit here. But that was one of the funniest moments I’ve ever seen, and Keith (Kisner) ) hitting like we were dying.”

What to do next?

The next TGL match will be the return of New York Golf Club against Atlanta Drive GC on January 22 (kick-off 12am UK time), followed by Jupiter Links GC on January 27 (11.30pm UK time) points start) versus Rory McIlroy at Boston Common Golf.

Los Angeles GC’s next match will be Wednesday, February 5th (2am start) against Boston Common Golf, per game All events in the 2025 and 2026 seasons will be broadcast live exclusively on Sky Sports Golf. Stream PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Majors and more with NOW.

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