For those who enjoyed the opener of TGL, there will be huge excitement for next week when Jupiter Links and Tiger Woods make their debut in the league.
TGL got off to a promising start, with The Bay impressing in their emphatic victory over New York on Tuesday. But clearly, it is the prospect of seeing the likes of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy involved which is going to attract the most fans.
On paper, Jupiter Links appears to have the potential to be the team which offers the most to the format. It is hard to imagine Woods, Max Homa or Kevin Kisner having an issue trash-talking their opponents. Meanwhile, there are not many competitors quite like Tom Kim.
But perhaps there was a chance that that would not have been the quartet going into their season-opener had Homa had his way.
Max Homa shares how Tiger Woods called him out at the US Open
Of course, 2024 was not the best year for any of the four players. Woods only made a handful of appearances, Homa’s form experienced a sharp decline, and Kim failed to win despite getting into some good positions.
But Kisner’s form had Homa particularly worried. The USA Presidents Cup vice-captain missed 17 cuts on the PGA Tour last year. And on No Laying Up, Homa joked that his suggestion to move on from Kisner saw him called out by Woods.
“I did ask Tiger when we played at the US Open on a practice round this year and I did ask him because at the time… Kiz has fortunately started playing much better lately, but at the time Kiz was struggling at the time and I did ask him at what point do we talk about this team? He said I was being a d–k. I said Kevin would say the exact same thing about me! I just feel like we need to have an open conversation,” he said.
“It felt very much like Mr Ridley at Augusta saying there is no suggestion box. It’s a one person management. I am just happy to be on the team.
“But hopefully after week one we will be able to reconvene and maybe re-strategise a bit.”
Why Jupiter Links may be the MVPs of TGL’s debut season
Homa and Kisner clearly have a really good relationship. Many will remember the sight of Kisner celebrating topless with Homa at the Presidents Cup after making a bet that he would remove his shirt if he holed out for eagle – which he did do on the first hole at Royal Montreal.
But the conversation just highlights why Jupiter Links may be the team who embrace the TGL format the most. They may not be in the best form, but they will not be afraid to make life uncomfortable for the opposition.
They should certainly be the most entertaining team over the next few weeks, one way or another.
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