The TV ratings for TGL got a boost from Tiger Woods, the new indoor golf league’s cofounder, playing in the competition’s second match Tuesday night.
ESPN drew one million viewers for Los Angeles Golf Club’s dominant 12–1 victory over Jupiter Links Golf Club, the latter of which Woods is a player and co-owner. That’s up 9% from TGL’s debut match last week, which drew 919,000 viewers.
Los Angeles–Jupiter Links ran over its scheduled two-hour TV window, forcing the Miami-Duke men’s basketball game to tip off on ESPNews at roughly 9:10 p.m. ET. The TGL action broadcast began at 7 p.m. ET, but the first shot wasn’t hit until about 7:12 p.m.
TGL matches play all 15 holes for season-ending tiebreaker purposes, even when the match outcome has been decided. Tuesday night’s match finished around 9:18 p.m. and ESPN, which has a multiyear rights deal with TGL, switched over to Miami-Duke about 60 seconds later, when there was 15:12 left in the first quarter of the eventual 89–54 Blue Devils win over the Hurricanes.
“Hopefully people tuned in for the entire broadcast,” Woods said after the match. “We’ve got some Duke fans that stuck around,” said Max Homa, also a member of Jupiter Links.
All Fun and Games
Despite the lopsided outcome, the typically ultra-competitive Woods was in good spirits following the defeat. “It’s about entertaining,” he said. “We had a laugh.”
“This is unique,” Woods added. “This is something that golf has never seen before—to have an arena like this.” The 1,500-seat SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., was sold out again Tuesday night, and the crowd leaned in favor of Jupiter Links, sending occasional jeers and boos toward Los Angeles.
Next Tuesday, New York Golf Club plays Atlanta Drive Golf Club, and on Jan. 27 Woods and Jupiter Links return to action against Boston Common Golf Club, as fellow TFL cofounder Rory McIlroy makes his league debut.
