Just a couple of years ago, golf was a very simple sport. The golf world had no distinctive formats, dramas, or controversies to offer, rather it only offered the pure joy of sportsmanship to all the fans. But in the last two years, things in the golf world have turned upside down and it all started in 2022 when the Saudis brought forward the groundbreaking LIV Golf into the picture. Ever since then, the controversies and drama have made their way into the golf fraternity and honestly, have not taken a halt. Other than LIV Golf, PGA Tour loyalists, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy also brought forward an innovation in golf that nobody has ever seen before, TGL.
Although LIV Golf and TGL have a team element in common, there are a lot of distinctions between the two. Though both of these leagues have accumulated golfers to play in teams of four, that does not signify that the two are the same. Other than the renowned and uprising team, the two leagues barely have anything in common. Golf has always been a sport that has been played individually, so the former rival bringing forward the team aspect in 2022 was new at the time.
McIlroy’s and Woods’ TGL is a pure technology-based indoor-gold league that will be played on a simulator. Usually, a single round takes from dawn to dusk to complete but with the innovative technology that TGL is bringing, it would be just a matter of a couple of hours. As new as the concept and format are, the traditional rules of the sport have kind of taken a backseat in TGL.
TGL has struck down the traditions of the sport and has mostly revamped the sport. There are six teams, containing four players each, and all of the associated names are big enough to attract an array of audiences. TGL might or might not be a successful venture when it hits the floor, but it will surely be a golf experience that people have not seen before.
Enthusiasts, fans, and experts are really excited for TGL to commence so that they can see their favorite golfers on an almost weekly basis in a completely new avatar. If things by any chance went downhill for TGL after the launch, it could be a total mishit but the chances of that happening are really slim. Woods is one of the most respected people in the golf fraternity, and fans would be excited to see him compete once again, even if it is on a simulator.
Woods’ history with the Saudi-backed league has been very interesting. Recently, the 15X major champion compared the TGL with LIV Golf and some interesting remarks.
Allegedly, the 5X Masters winner was offered $1 billion to defect from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf but he willfully declined the offer. Woods has never been a fan of the backway league but his recent confession hinted that his dislike and resistance towards it does not necessarily mean a lack of awareness.
In the recent press conference he announced his TGL team and himself as the first playing member of the team, he also spoke about his tech league being way more simple than LIV Golf. He confessed to watching LIV Golf and said that he could not really understand what was going on in the tournaments and on the course. All he could say to describe his league was that it is “simpler” than LIV Golf.
