TGL is good fun. But he would make it even better

We are trying not to rush. We are trying to be realistic. We’re trying to be patient, even. (And maybe we’re failing!) But TGL is definitely good fun, having lived up to many of its lofty promises in its debut this week. To see a golf brand actually deliver what it said would seem oddly special at this point, but it only encourages you to wonder… what might TGL look like at its peak?

Or rather, WHO Can it be included in its climax?

Opening night at the SoFi Center was definitely a success. After him is the debut of Tiger Woods mixed reality setupcoming on tuesday. The league will have no problem marketing him (and the rest of Woods’ appearances) through ESPN’s prime opportunities. But as the season progresses and any remaining kinks in the system are worked out, it will become clear that TGL has a ton of talent — just not all of them the talent.

With only six teams of four players each, many of the sport’s biggest names are involved, but many others are not. Which is the first thing I think of when discussing TGL’s room for growth towards its theoretical ceiling. WHO other Can it be included to make arena golf as big as possible?

The answer is not necessarily Scottie Scheffler, the best player in the world. Neither is Jordan Spieth, the three-time major champion who remains as popular as ever, but who also is recovering from a wrist injury that required surgery. Both players hail from Texas and both would make TGL a stronger product, no doubt. But both had the possibility of union and both refused. Spieth and Scheffler weren’t interested in adding extra travel to their schedules while raising young families in Dallas.

Instead, it’s another Dallas native who would provide all of Spieth’s popularity and most of Scheffler’s performance. It’s Bryson DeChambeau.

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DeChambeau seems tailor-made for TGL, with his heavy-handed analytical approach. Spin rates measured and displayed by TGL simulators – DeChambeau could recite them by feel. The ever-changing slopes of the shape-shifting green would send him spinning—in a way you can’t get away from. (Whether he likes it or not, a frustrated DeChambeau is almost as entertaining as a dazed DeChambeau.)

husband loves being on camera and performing in the center of our collective attention. Look no further than the moments after his US Open win at Pinehurst, where he joined Live From on Golf Channel, coaching Johnson Wagner how to hit the bunker shot that won the title for DeChambeau. it PRACTICES punch-in-the-mirror celebrations. Every day of his present life is a satisfying day.

You can imagine DeChambeau racing to the edge of the arena to rile up the fans, acting as gladiator as professional players can be. The monetary value of the TGL product is on television, but the real glue of this sports product is in the atmosphere of the arena, where about half of the spectators sit in quieter hospitality areas. For, say, Week 7 of the TGL season to have juice, it will take players working hard to provide it, using more than just their 7 irons.

Another important element of DeChambeau: he’s not everyone’s cup of tea. He never was. But DeChambeau has grown in popularity in recent months, largely due to his content creation and adaptation of YouTube’s various players. He has hosted wildly popular “Break 50” contests with everyone from Tom Brady to President-elect Donald Trump. He even joined Trump on stage during the election season.

All this makes it very visible, but not necessarily loved by everyone. (He also plays at a fast enough pace that shot clock violations would certainly be in play.) Many PGA Tour faithful have resisted DeChambeau’s recent rise, holding firm against his departure to LIV Golf and joining one lawsuit against the PGA Tour. His mere presence would add some guaranteed energy to the proceedings, knowing how much some of the TGL players would love to beat him. Or how many spectators might enjoy rooting against him.

Unfortunately, DeChambeau as a TGL golfer is not in the cards … at least right now. He has his own team golf to worry about elsewhere, starting in Saudi Arabia in just a few weeks. And TGL is partially owned by the PGA Tour, meaning no LIV golfers will participate, at least not before the Tour and the Saudi PIF finalize a deal reuniting the sport. But could we see this happen down the road?

In a world where the Tour and PIF finalize a deal, that would be among the first questions asked. Getting DeChambeau to compete in the Players Championship would be high on the priority list, but getting him into the Tour’s shiny, new, technological side gig couldn’t be far behind.

Want to see DeChambeau on TGL? Who else would you like to see? Comments are welcome by the author at sean.zak@golf.com.