Like many professional golfers, Jon Rahm has a simulator at his house. It’s a 14-foot screen and you stand about 12 feet away when you swing. Pretty standard.

Rahm and the 11 other players signed up for TGL – a new “tech-infused league” that will partner with the PGA Tour – are in for a massive change of pace (and scenery) when the first event begins in January of 2024.

“From what I hear we’re going to be 35 yards from the screen and the screen is going to be 60 feet wide and 40-some feet tall,” said Rahm ahead of this week’s 2023 BMW Championship at Olympia Fields near Chicago. “I can’t even picture how big it’s going to be.”

“I’ve seen a virtual reality little video of it. I haven’t seen it in person. It’s different to what I expected,” he continued. “I didn’t realize how big it was going to be, which makes it a lot better.”

Six teams of three PGA Tour players will compete in 15 regular season Monday night matches, followed by semifinals and finals matches, starting next January. The matches will be played at a tech-infused, short-game complex. Fans will be able to see every shot live over a 2-hour broadcast on primetime television.

Monday Night Football will end on Christmas, Dec. 25, meaning the new league won’t be competing with the NFL when it begins in a few months.

Of the 18 players, so far 12 have been announced. The committed players include a handful of fan favorites who have combined for 28 major championships and 190 PGA Tour wins. Two of the six team ownership groups, based in Los Angeles and Boston, have also been announced.

TGL also recently announced Full Swing as an official technology partner, which shouldn’t come as a shock given that Full Swing is the PGA Tour’s official partner for golf simulators and counts TGL participants Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele among its endorsers.

The committed players don’t know many details just yet, but that hasn’t stifled Rahm’s excitement for the new league. From the type of golf that’s being played to when and where it’s being played, Rahm is optimistic the TGL will bring in a new audience of fans.

“Like many sports nowadays, I think that is going to allow for probably a lot more live gambling, which is what a lot of people are trying to do nowadays when they’re watching sports,” he explained. “I think we can appeal to a different audience, and I’m looking forward to that, as well. I’ve heard a lot of great reviews and thoughts from friends of mine looking into it before they knew I was invested in it and wanting to play.”

“I think we have the opportunity to do something very special.”

Tiger Woods was seen without a walking boot at a junior golf tournament last weekend, signaling a potential comeback in 2024 is possible.

Tiger Woods has battled injuries for the better part of a decade.

Add his life-threatening car accident in 2021 into the mix, and it is amazing that Woods can still walk, let alone play golf.

In 2022, Woods shockingly made the cut at the Masters but withdrew from the PGA Championship at Southern Hills and then missed the cut at The Open at St. Andrews that July. He did not play in the U.S. Open at Brookline, won by Matthew Fitzpatrick.

His 2023 season did not fare any better.

He had surgery on his ankle in April, just weeks after he withdrew from the 2023 Masters.

Woods did not play in the other three major championships while rehabilitating.

Yet, according to @TWlegion, a Twitter account that actively tracks Woods, the 15-time major champion was seen without a walking boot at a junior golf tournament in South Florida.

Woods’ son Charlie, who has dominated junior golf tournaments this year, played in an event at Old Palm Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

The younger Woods finished at 3-over for the championship—a 54-hole event, which put him in solo 10th place.

But the biggest story from the SFPGA Junior Cup was that the older Woods did not have a walking boot, and fans are going wild over this development:

Whether Woods will provide an update regarding his health remains to be seen. He usually does so cryptically, often staying quiet about his whereabouts and progress.

Nevertheless, golf fans everywhere can dream about Woods returning to glory at some point soon, even if it is a flash in the pan.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us @golf_com. This week, we discuss Tiger Woods’ appointment to the PGA Tour policy board, the FedEx Cup Playoffs and Justin Thomas.

1. Tiger Woods made his way back into the golf news cycle this week with the bombshell announcement that he will be joining the PGA Tour’s Policy Board as a sixth player director. What does this actually mean for the future of the PGA Tour with the pending merger with the Saudi Public Investment Fund and how could it influence future decisions?

Sean Zak, senior editor (@Sean_Zak): It means nothing goes without Tiger’s say. Which is very important. For a while, we thought nothing would go without Rory’s say. His interests and that of Tour HQ seemed to overlap perfectly. And then on June 6, they diverged in a seemingly major way. Now, it seems, there would be fewer surprises. Fewer things that pros just have to deal with. Less listening to demands and more making demands. It feels like a sort of serious unionization that the Tour membership has had but never really realized.

Josh Sens, senior writer (@JoshSens): That’s an interesting way to think of it: unionization. But there’s still the question of who gets best represented in that union, and it speaks to a lingering issue in the men’s pro game: a small number of players move the needle. How should they be compensated? What should be asked of them in return? And what about the rank and file and the up-and-comers, who are part of the lifeblood of the circuit but don’t draw the eyeballs or attract big-time sponsors? What rewards and opportunities do they get? Over this past year, while it was fighting to retain talent, we saw the Tour make all kinds of concessions to its biggest names. If we’re trying to read the tea leaves, Tiger’s appointment looks like an attempt to tilt things increasingly in that direction.

JUST IN:Jake Paul’s ‘proud’ girlfriend Jutta Leerdam teases interview with Mike Tyson following Nate Diaz win

Jack Hirsh, assistant editor (@JR_HIRSHey): This has to be insanely popular amongst the pros. All of these guys look up to Tiger and more importantly, owe him for everything this Tour has become over the past 30 years. Not being able to hear from Tiger regularly during much of the PGA Tour-LIV war was one of the most frustrating things about it because his voice carried so much weight. With him now in the fold of PGA Tour decision-makers, I expect the players to have much more of a say going forward. I do wonder what his appointment means for Jay Monahan, as we haven’t really heard Tiger talk much about his opinions of the commish.

2. Woods had been deafeningly quiet on the PGA Tour-PIF merger since the announcement in early June up until this week. What do you think took him so long?

Sens: Since when has he ever been the first to weigh in on controversial matters? Woods has never been one to rush into the role of political leadership. The more cautious approach he took was right on brand. I would have been surprised if he had played it any other way.

Zak: When the first week passed without a statement from Woods, I was surprised. I figured he had to weigh in. What was he thinking? We knew what he was thinking. But as time wore on, he said a lot by saying nothing. I think the nine weeks of silence were a big way of saying “I don’t really approve of what has all gone down.” And the last week or so has been a big way of saying “I’m going to have a big voice now.” Why did he wait? Who knows, but it allowed him to make a bigger splash.

Hirsh: Woods may have been quiet publicly, but there’s no way the wheels for him to get more involved in the process weren’t set in motion as soon as he learned of the framework agreement. There’s a good chance this appointment was probably held up by Monahan’s medical leave.

3. The PGA Tour’s regular season wrapped up this week at the Wyndham Championship with the top 70 in the standings heading on to the start of the three-week FedEx Cup Playoffs. Who was the most surprising player to miss the top 70?

Sens: Given that he started the week outside the bubble, it’s not a shock that Thomas failed to make it in. But no matter how you slice it, Thomas’s season has been a stunner. Missed cuts in three of four majors. A couple of 80s on the scorecard along the way. Crazy what golf can do to even the best players. At times this year, Thomas has looked like he’s been body-snatched.

Zak: Yeah, it’s definitely J.T. He’s the two-time major winner. The 15-time Tour winner. He just turned 30. Absolute center of his prime. No one else comes close.

Hirsh: Sure, J.T. is shocking given he just won a major last year, but how about Adam Scott? Sure he’s not at the same No. 1 player in the world level he reached when he won the Masters a decade ago, but he had been a model of consistency for longer than that. Scott had made every edition of the FedEx Cup Playoffs until this year. Now Matt Kuchar is the last player remaining to hold that distinction.

JUST IN:Tiger Woods joins PGA Tour board as Saudi deal talks continue

4. 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, who ended up just sneaking into the Playoffs by winning this week, opened up Friday on the reduced field for the first playoff event this season (down from 125). “I think if you finish in the top 125, I don’t know why you don’t get to play next week. That’s my opinion. Been pretty outspoken in that. I think it’s silly that it’s only 70.” What do you make of his comments and the smaller playoff field?

Sens: 125. 70. 82. When you boil it down, any number you choose is pretty arbitrary. But the tighter the cutoff, the better. As they say in “The Incredibles”, If everyone’s super, then no one is. Ever since their birth, the playoffs have felt like manufactured excitement; to really care, you have to care about already rich golfers getting even richer. Remember what Glover said toward the end of that same interview? If he didn’t make it, no big deal to him. He’d get to hang with his family. Good on him. But it points to a problem with the playoffs to begin with. If the players themselves aren’t all excited, why should fans be?  Maybe that should be another of the cutoff criteria. If it’s not a big deal to you, stay home.

Zak: I think like a lot of disgruntled Tour pros this year, the comments come across as pretty flimsy when they aren’t paired with any solutions. The PGA Tour has been pressured into understanding all its assets better than ever before, and Lucas Glover — or the kind of players who are 90th-best in the world — just aren’t as important of assets as the guys who are top 30. Finally, it’s being said out loud in major ways, and to some folks that’s unsurprisingly a bit of a gut punch.

Hirsh: When I heard these comments, I honestly thought back to 2009 when Heath Slocum won the first playoff event after being the No. 124 player in the FedEx Cup during the regular season. He ended up finishing 8th in the FedEx Cup that year and had a chance to win the entire thing with a win at the Tour Championship. No system is perfect and volatility is what makes playoffs in all sports great, but you can’t give the 124th-best player in a season the chance to win it all. No one will ever agree on a number, but I agree with Sean here, the smaller, the better.

5. Justin Thomas shot a final-round 68 to just barely miss the top 70 after his chip on the final hole bounced out of the cup. If you’re Zach Johnson, are you picking him for Rome?

On Monday’s edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Hardy wasn’t interested in talking who is the GOAT of golf… it’s clearly Tiger Woods.

You’re not old enough to know…

CALLER:: You’ve been talking about Tiger Woods and a couple of times, you’ve said he’s the greatest golfer that ever lived. I disagree with you. Jack Nicklaus has won 18 majors and 19 runner-ups in majors.

Hardy: Those are the people he loves to win some of those majors.

CALLER:: Tiger Woods has won 15 majors in seven runner ups. There’s no comparison. The greatest golfer that ever lived is Jack Nicklaus.

Hardy: So it’s only about the major championships? Well, then you know what? You don’t even have to watch. You can just look and see who won the most majors and you can determine the best golfers in history by how many majors they won. That’s all you have to do, right?

CALLER:: No, no, I like runner ups.

Hardy: Oh, you like guys who lose… who weren’t quite good enough to win. Did you see some of the guys that Jack lost to?

CALLER:: Is there something wrong with coming in second place in a major?

• Tiger Woods is joining the PGA Tour’s policy board as its sixth player director, a concession to its players as negotiations continue over a deal with Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
• Last month, former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson resigned from the board, citing concerns about accepting Saudi investment — something others in the tour, including players, have raised.
• The tour and LIV so far have reached a framework agreement, but the deal, which has come under lawmakers’ scrutiny, has yet to be finalized.

‘For the players, by the players’

Tiger Woods. The name is synonymous with golf and oozes a competitive edge. It is hard to think about the sport without first imagining the legendary golfer who put golf in the headlines with his innate talent not only to play but to win. These days, however, the 82-time PGA Tour winner is not out on the course as much as he was before. But as recent news has made clear, that does not diminish his contributions to golf.

Woods is still undoubtedly leading the show, and his ideas and deeds are just as meaningful from behind the scenes. The recent development in the 2024 season’s schedule of the PGA Tour is the perfect example of just how much the GOAT of golf influences the sport, as a decision went his way instead of the Tours, showing just how much authority he truly holds!

It has been almost a decade since the PGA Tour decided to adhere to a calendar-year season. Many other aspects of professional golf are also changing to fit the new and preferred norms. One of the decisions involves removing the cut line from PGA Tour events, but they can’t do so. As of now, four events are exempt from the new norms and will still follow the cut rule. The reason? Tiger Woods.

“I certainly am pushing for my event to have a cut,” the 15-time major championship winner said about the Genesis Invitational, which he hosts. He also explained, as reported by the Sportnow, “I still think that there needs to be a penalty for not playing well, and every event shouldn’t be always guaranteed 72 holes. I think that there should be a cut there.”

The epic golfer has never been a fan of the no-cut rule. He spoke about it back in March, and he stands by his principles that players need to prove themselves in order to play further in any tournament. It is like a rite of passage to win the title. His stance on the rule comes just days after he took on the role of more than just a golfer on the Tour, and it certainly seems like he’s made the best use of his position.

Apart from hosting the Genesis Invitational, which is one of four events that are most likely to follow the cut rule next season, the World Golf Hall of Famer is actively partaking in the reformation of the PGA Tour. He was hailed earlier this month after he accepted the position of 6th Player Director on the PGA’s policy board alongside Rory McIlroy.

A few weeks ago, Woods was feeling incredibly betrayed, and there were speculations of a tiff between him and the American tour. However, his recent actions and participation in making the Tour a better place for golfers seem to be benefiting everyone.

Tiger Woods is a professional golfer, born on Dec. 30, 1975, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time. Woods has made a significant impact on the sport throughout his time playing.

Woods began playing golf at a young age, showcasing exceptional talent and skill. He achieved success early in his career, becoming the youngest player to win the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in 1991 and 1992.

In 1997, at the age of 21, he won his first major championship, the Masters Tournament, by a record-breaking 12 strokes. This victory boosted Woods to global fame and marked the beginning of his dominant era in professional golf.

Tiger Woods’ impact on golf and his legacy as a global sporting icon inspires generations of golfers

Over the next decade, Woods continued to achieve remarkable success, winning a total of 14 major championships, including four Masters titles, four PGA Championships, three U.S. Open titles, and three Open Championships. He held the number one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking for a record total of 683 weeks, including a stretch of 281 consecutive weeks from 1999 to 2004.

In February 2021, Woods was in a single-car accident in Los Angeles. Woods was said to be driving between 84 and 87 mph in a 45-limit speed zone. Police reported there was no sign of intoxication or drug use, and it was simply ruled an accident. Woods told police he did not remember driving and suffered leg injuries including a shattered ankle and two leg fractures.

“[The vehicle] crossed the center divider, to the point that it rested several hundred feet away so obviously that indicates they were going at a relatively — a greater speed than normal. However, because it is downhill, it slopes and it also curves,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva in February. “That area has a high frequency of accidents. It’s not uncommon.”

Tiger Woods’ impact on the game of golf and his enduring legacy as a player cannot be overstated. His skill, dominance, and charismatic presence have made him a global sporting icon, leaving an indelible mark on the sport and inspiring generations of golfers to come.