With the PGA Tour season beginning to wind down, TGL will provide one of the next opportunities for fans to see a number of the world’s best players face off.
TGL had a mixed first season earlier this year. The format was tweaked midway through the fixture list in an attempt to make the product more exciting.
But there were a number of outstanding moments, with Kevin Kisner proving to be the star of the event. It also provided an opportunity to see the likes of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy face off – though neither player’s team had a particularly good season.
So it will be fascinating to see how TGL evolves when its second season starts up in December.
TGL told their biggest challenge ahead of its second season
Of course, those behind the league would have known that not everyone would be a fan of the venture. It is already very different to anything else at the highest level of the game.
And there will be plenty of viewers hoping to see TGL improve in several areas, having given it some leeway during its debut season.
Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Ryan Lavner suggested what TGL is going to need to address if it is going to be able to become a regular fixture in the golfing calendar.
“I think when you look at their biggest challenge this year as it relates to TGL, and I’m sure we’ll get into this more as the winter goes on, now that the novelty of the technology has worn off, the actual in-game experience of seeing a ball smack against a screen and seeing how that plays out, now that the rosters are exactly the same barring some sort of LIV defection from 2025 to 2026, how are you going to elevate the product? And I still go back to the outcome needing to mean something,” he said.
“In my opinion, that’s why the PNC, the old father-son, now parent-child event works so well, because if you watch Tiger and Charlie Woods, they’re trying like hell to win their first PNC title. It means something to them. So I think if it means something to the competitors, it’s going to mean something to the audience. So I’m very curious to see what the reception is going to be like from fans and viewing audiences for season two.
“Tiger is beat up, he’s recovering from Achilles surgery. Rory has very much made it clear that he is satisfied, and that only five events all year long in the world of golf mean something to him: the four major championships and the Ryder Cup. So if he’s not getting up for The Players Championship, and he’s not getting up for the PGA Tour signature events, how can we expect Rory to be getting up for made for TV exhibitions at 9 o’clock on a Tuesday night? The newness, the novelty has worn off for some of the players as well. Again, I think that’s their biggest challenge; overcoming that and becoming a compelling product on TV now it’s not brand new and innovative.”
The mistake LIV Golf has made which TGL needs to avoid
Some players did a brilliant job of embracing the challenge. Billy Horschel noted that players needed to be entertainers if the league was going to thrive. He certainly took the responsibility seriously.
Tiger Woods also surprised his teammates with how much he bought into the format.
One of the big criticisms of LIV Golf is how ridiculous those associated with the league sound when they overstate just how important and prestigious their tournaments are.
TGL obviously needs to avoid falling into the same trap. Neither Woods nor McIlroy were present for the 2025 final despite being co-founders.
There is no point trying to make the case that the stakes are particularly high in TGL in comparison to PGA Tour events.
However, if the league is able to offer something completely different to what golf fans see at regular events – including more entertaining rivalries – then TGL could have a big future ahead.
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