Tiger Woods’ TGL debut ended in heavy defeat as Jupiter Links Golf Club were thrashed 12-1 by Los Angeles Golf Club in their season opener.
The former world No 1 lined-up alongside Max Homa and Kevin Kisner for their first match in the tech-infused golf league, founded by Woods and Rory McIlroy’s company TMRW Sports, which sees PGA Tour stars go head-to-head in teams and using a hybrid of virtual and real-life play.
Woods emerged from the tunnel to Survivor’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’ at the SoFi Center but saw his side quickly fall 5-0 down after just four holes of the 15-hole contest, which uses alternate shot – or triples – for the opening nine-hole session before switching to singles.
Their only point of the game came with a succession at the sixth as Los Angeles Golf Club ended the session with an 8-1 advantage, with Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose and Sahith Theegala adding three holes in singles to extend their winning margin in a one-sided contest.
Victory sees Los Angeles GC earn two points and move level with The Bay Golf Club – who thrashed New York Golf Club 9-2 in last week’s inaugural match – at the top of the season-long SoFi Cup standings, with Woods’ Jupiter Links joint-bottom of the six-team league.
Woods appeared to struggle on the 13th hole during his debut TGL match where he hit a tee shot in the water and a few shots later followed that with a duffed bunker shot
Tiger struggles in TGL opener
Woods immediately threw down ‘The Hammer’, which gives a team the chance to put their opponents under pressure by doubling the value of the hole, although both teams claimed a share of the spoils with a par at the first.
A chaotic par-five second saw both Homa and Woods go into the water, allowing Jupiter Links to win the hole with a bogey despite Theegala also finding the hazard, while Rose rolled in a 10-foot birdie at the par-three next to win two points with ‘The Hammer’.
Tiger arrives at the SoFi Centre in style with his son Charlie, closely followed by tennis legend Serena Williams
Jupiter Links won two more points with ‘The Hammer’ at the fourth after Kisner found the penalty area, with Woods unable to convert his seven-foot bogey putt to share the hole but holing from eight feet at the next to avoid falling further behind.
Theegala sent his tee shot into the hazard at the sixth, with the hole conceded after Morikawa missed their putt for par, but Rose won the eighth with a birdie and Los Angeles claimed the ninth with ‘The Hammer’ to take an 8-1 advantage into the singles.
Woods’ Jupiter Links Golf Club were heavily beaten in their TGL season opener
Rose and Woods tied the 10th hole with bogeys and a par was enough for Morikawa to defeat Kisner at the 11th, before Woods hit his tee shot into the hazard at the 13th and took two attempts out of a bunker on his way to losing the hole.
Woods and the players were left in stitches by Kisner’s comical shank from the sand at the 14th, which hit the flag and flew to the other side of the playing arena, with Morikawa winning that hole and Theegala claiming the last after Homa conceded.
In a funny sequence of events Kevin Kisner shanked a ball out a bunker which luckily hit the flag and then followed it by almost holing out his next shot
Woods finds humour in blowout loss
“We were entertaining,” Woods said. “We hit a lot of shots. I think the people here, they 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 how much [skilly] was evident today; I don’t have any golf skills. Hey, this is a start of a new year. We had a great time. Hopefully people tuned in for the entire broadcast.”
Tiger Woods reflects on the hilarious moment during the TGL match where Kevin Kisner shanked a bunker shot.
On the Kisner incident at the 14th hole, Woods added: “We honestly didn’t think that anyone could possibly get hit in here. But that was one of the funniest moments I’ve ever seen, Kis [Kisner] hitting that shot like that. We were just dying.”
What’s next?
The next TGL match sees New York Golf Club back in action on January 22 against Atlanta Drive GC (12am start UK time), before Jupiter Links GC play Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf on January 27 (11.30pm start).
Los Angeles GC next feature against Boston Common Golf on Wednesday February 5 (2am start), with every match of the 2025 and 2026 seasons exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, majors and more with NOW.
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