Last night saw perhaps the best TGL action since the league’s inception.
The Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy-backed league has struggled to get off the ground in season two, as it hasn’t captured the imagination of the young golfing audience as they might have hoped.
But since Woods has returned to the fray, captaining his Jupiter Links Golf Club, interest has steadily increased, and that reached a fever pitch in their most recent match.
Playing against Wyndham Clark’s Bay Golf Club, Tom Kim made a hole-in-one to save Jupiter’s season, before holing a long putt to make the playoffs. And Woods was hyped.
The 15-time major winner celebrated like we haven’t seen in years, and Kim saw something from Woods that he has never seen before.
Tom Kim explains what was unique about Tiger Woods’ TGL celebration
TGL’s main selling point was supposed to be its indoor, stadium-style environment, but what’s most captivating is its team setup.
Watching the likes of Woods and McIlroy play as part of a star-studded team every week creates an incredible dynamic, and that was on full display last night.
Kim spoke about this after his hole-in-one, and explained how incredible it felt to see the greatest golfer of all time celebrate one of his shots.
He said, “It’s pretty fun. Golf is such an individual sport and has been for such a long time. We’re starting to have more team events now, and you probably never see Tiger celebrate that much when another person has a hole-in-one.
“No, it was fun. But I think everyone needs to understand, my hole-in-one doesn’t happen if Max doesn’t birdie the previous hole. This is such a team effort.
“I was just so glad I didn’t have to hit anymore because there was a lot of pressure on Kis to finish the match.”
What Tiger Woods’ celebration means for The Masters
The underlying narrative for everything Woods is when he will return to play, and judging by his celebration, he can’t be too far away.
Woods hasn’t played since 2024, and his comeback was originally set for January this year. But this was pushed back when he underwent yet another back surgery in October.
In the build-up to the Genesis Invitational, Woods revealed he was hitting full shots again and didn’t rule out playing The Masters this year. That’s led to speculation as to when he’ll return to playing on TGL.
This was put to the five-time Masters winner after his team’s latest TGL match, and he was deliberately vague. It’s certainly possible that we see his return next week.
While celebrating Kim’s shot, Woods certainly didn’t seem concerned about his back. He was jumping around freely, which is a positive sign for his Masters return.