Why the TGL needed Horschel's dramatic putt

BBC News

26-03-2025

As Billy Horschel's golf ball disappeared into the hole, the American celebrated by sprinting, leaping, swearing and chucking his club. It was an electrifying and animated move that became the signature moment of TGL's debut season.That downhill, snaking and ultimately successful putt helped land Horschel and his Atlanta Drive team-mates Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas victory against the franchise known as New York Golf Club.This was in the second of the best of three final series. The victors came from 3-0 down (a point is awarded for each hole won) to triumph 4-3 to take an unassailable 2-0 position.Such a dramatic finish was exactly what the Tech-infused Golf League needed - the sort of climax envisaged by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy when they bought into the idea of a raucous indoor simulator version of the game.The decisive putt, which involved a number of dramatic breaks, could be seen as a metaphor for an opening season that was far from straightforward.There were technical glitches, blowout matches, necessary rule changes and a mixture of reactions from golf fans. But somehow the TGL eventually hit its target.It yielded respectable television audiences, helped reveal players' personalities and engaged a somewhat younger audience. The median age for ESPN's viewership was 51 years old compared with the usual 63 for PGA Tour and LIV events.
Played largely on Monday and Tuesday evenings, this was all about attracting viewers. It began promisingly with more than 900,000 in the US tuning in for the initial match in January, but audiences tapered off to eventually average around the half-million mark.The early contests lacked a competitive edge. The players seemed to struggle with the concept - there was an awkwardness between a competition worth $21m in prize money and an environment that made it seem a hit-and-giggle event.In one match Woods misunderstood a distance instruction by 100 yards and laughed it off. Imagine that in a tour event. It wouldn't happen. TGL's competitive credibility undoubtedly took a hit with that moment.The tactic of playing the 'hammer' to make a hole worth double points did not work initially but became a more effective tool once the rules were adjusted to allow for three 'hammers'.This dimension ultimately became a crucial factor in deciding the title and brought a welcome edge to proceedings.TGL created the sort of buzz that has been the target of the breakaway LIV tour. The Saudi-based circuit, now in its fourth season, has only enjoyed limited success in that regard - most notably with their Adelaide tournament.Horschel's histrionics were straight out of the LIV playbook but did not seem out of place once TGL reached its play-off stage. The unalterably dead-pan Cantlay was a constant reminder that there was underlying serious business afoot.It was Cantlay's chip against Cameron Young one hole after Horschel's dramatic putt that sealed Atlanta Drive's victory."It would be great for golf if this were to succeed," LIV's Phil Mickelson observed on social media. "The golf fan is the most loyal fan in sports - buy a ticket, walk miles and see a fraction of the action. But this could allow the golf fan to buy a ticket, sit down and watch all of the action just like other sports. "It could really be good for the game if it's compelling."
LIV players are not currently eligible for TGL because it is backed by the PGA Tour. That could change if a deal is done between the two rival tours and LIV's Brooks Koepka attended the match between Jupiter and The Bay on 25 February.The start of the first of the two deciding matches on Monday was delayed by an overrunning Women's NCAA basketball game on ESPN2, which tells us of TGL's standing in the bigger sporting picture.Nevertheless, it will return. Investment is deep for a project that boasts 11 of the world's top 15 golfers. The 1500 seat 250,000 square feet Sofi Centre venue on the Palm Beach State College campus cost $50m to build.And there are already thoughts of adding a second venue on America's west coast, although that would likely be years down the line."We're in the middle of an expansion process now," said Mike McCarley, the TMRW executive who co-founded the project with Woods and McIlroy."When exactly we make that decision - there's no timeline on it necessarily," McCarley added to the Palm Beach Post."We've had potential expansion team owners at every single match this season coming to visit us. Some of them, multiple times. Some of them have a lot of questions, a lot of feedback."TGL already has the backing of leading American sports investors, who are behind the six teams that competed.They include the Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank (Atlanta Drive), John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group (Boston Common), New York Mets owner Steve Cohen (New York Golf Club), former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry (The Bay Golf Club) and David Blitzer, who joined Woods' group that owns Jupiter Links."We really like those team owners that are operators of other sports teams and other professional leagues in their communities," McCarley said."But we got a lot of really interesting diverse people domestically and internationally. They can kind of take a look and see what it looks like going forward."Former tennis great Serena Williams is co-owner of the Los Angeles team and her involvement prompts consideration over whether TGL missed a trick by not including some of the LPGA's top stars, such as Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko.Like LIV, TGL may struggle to win over traditional die-hard golf fans with its raucous environment, which is in stark contrast to the more genteel way golf is usually played.But the new league was not brought in for the benefit of that constituency. It is there to broaden golf's base.Significantly, the players seem to have enjoyed it and deem it worth incorporating into their early season schedules."Obviously it is a little bit of a challenge with everything we've got going through the year with our own schedules, but I don't think anyone has ever walked away and said 'this felt like a burden'," Horschel stated after collecting his share of the $9m winners' spoils."I could never imagine what this was going to be," the reigning BMW PGA champion added. "I remember coming into the arena in November and walking out and I was just in awe. I couldn't imagine what I was seeing."I described it like a football player walking into Mercedes-Benz Stadium right about to play, a basketball player walking out - Steph Curry walking out at Oracle Arena, stuff like that."Never imagined we'd be playing golf in an arena with a big simulator and people and music and chanting. It has been really cool and has sort of exceeded all of our expectations."