It does not feel like an understatement to suggest that week three could be a defining one for TGL, following Tiger Woods’ debut in the league in the most recent match.
It was arguably extremely smart to not have Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy playing in week one of TGL. Ultimately, the interest was always going to be there, with golf fans intrigued to see how the format would work.
Those fans were then rewarded with Woods playing on Tuesday. Unfortunately, it proved to be a miserable time for his Jupiter Links team as they were beaten 12-1 by Los Angeles.
There were some amazing moments, including Kevin Kisner leaving everyone involved in hysterics after thinning a bunker shot which cannoned off the flag stick. However, it was concerning just how one-sided the match proved to be.
TGL could be facing a ‘really big problem’
In fact, the gulf in quality between the two matches has led some to wonder just how reliable the technology in the SoFi Center was on Tuesday. Jupiter found the hazard on more than a handful of occasions, while it was remarkable just many wedge shots missed the target.
And speaking on Golf Channel, Ryan Lavner suggested that it would completely undermine the credibility of the league if the technology was not working correctly.
“I think it’s fair to say that this was clearly not as strong as the debut match just a week earlier. The competition somehow was even more a blowout, it went 20 minutes long. In person last week at the SoFi Center, I felt like the second hour dragged. I was surprised to see on TV watching it last night, it felt the exact same way,” he said.
“I think the main differentiator between weeks one and two was that we saw some really poor shots on Tuesday night, to the point where you wondered whether the simulator was actually working properly. And that’s a foundational issue for TGL if so. If guys can’t dial in their distances from 150, or they don’t trust it, that’s a really big problem if you’re asking guys potentially to be putting real life cash on the outcome and particular shots. You see Tiger missing greens with wedges, guys saying they flushed it and it’s coming up short in the bunkers, you see guys not even sniffing the hole on 10 footers.
“I still think TGL had its moments, I still think it’s cool second screen fodder, and obviously would agree with most people that if was a close match, we’d probably be having entirely different perspectives on what this looks like and what it can be.”
Plenty for TGL to prove in week three after mixed start
It is almost inevitable that ratings will drop at times during the season. And week three once again sees neither Woods or McIlroy involved. There is also perhaps a chance that Xander Schauffele does not participate after withdrawing from The American Express.
So that may perhaps be a key hurdle for the league to get over.
But the league cannot afford to have anyone even speculating about the technology. Ultimately, people will lose interest pretty quickly if they know that a good shot could end up in completely the wrong place.
Sahith Theegala noted that he was hitting the ball a club further on Tuesday, though he put that down to being amped up in the arena. However, it appeared difficult for any of the six players to get dialled in.
It seems that there is going to be plenty for TGL to prove in week three.
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