Rickie Fowler makes big TGL prediction after taking part in opening night

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Rickie Fowler enjoyed the opening night of TGL, despite his New York Golf Club being on the receiving end of a heavy defeat.

Peter Finch was concerned about TGL, but the Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy-led venture got off to a very exciting start.

The Bay Club eased past New York 9-2 at the SoFi Center thanks to the superb displays of Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry and Wyndham Clark.

TGL founders Woods and McIlroy watched on as Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick were on the losing side in Florida.

Lowry fired the opening shot on a historic night, with New York failing to earn a point until the par-five ninth.

Rickie Fowler makes big TGL prediction after opening night

But despite the defeat and indeed the heavy manner of it, an upbeat Fowler has tipped TGL for a bright future, on one condition.

Discussing how television viewers accept the TGL, he said on the ESPN broadcast: “If it does well there, the sky’s the limit with what you can do. You can put up arenas in different places. This is just the start.”

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Speaking before the competition got underway, McIlroy was hopeful TGL would excite fans, and it seems that many have immediately taken to the innovative venture.

Ludvig Aberg and Shane Lowry share honest thoughts on TGL

Unlike Fowler, it was a winning start for The Bay Club duo Aberg and Lowry, who both impressed on the big stage.

The Irishman did, however, comically forget to bring a tee to the hitting area for the first shot of opening night.

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Nerves were perhaps messing with his mind given the pressure in front of a live audience, but his effort did safely find the fairway.

He went on to secure the winning point for The Bay at the par-five 10th, with Aberg having been in formidable form on the green.

Discussing the night, the Swede said: “It was awesome. I always said I was so jealous of basketball and football players because they get to do this a lot and we don’t.

“So this whole stadium-like feel is awesome to be a part of, and it gets you going a little bit differently from a normal golf tournament.”

His winning teammate Lowry added: “The last time I’ve had that much fun was probably last September [2023 Ryder Cup]. Look, I had an amazing two hours.”