Tiger Woods’ TGL Debut, LIV’s Big TV Deal, Teen Phenomenon: Tour Confidential

Check back each week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in sports, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we review Tiger Woods’ TGL debut, analyze LIV Golf’s new TV deal, predict who will have the best LIV season and review Blades Brown’s pro debut.

Tiger Woods made his TGL debut on Tuesdayafter his team Jupiter Links lost to Los Angeles in the second edition of the new technology league. What were your thoughts on Tiger the player and Tiger the entertainer?

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): I thought Tiger proved why TGL built its business around it. He’s interesting enough for the world to pay attention to no matter what he’s doing. This is extremely valuable for golf in any form, including simulator golf.

Josh Schrock, news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): There is no doubt that people will continue to tune in to watch Tiger’s balls mashing on a simulator screen. Otherwise, we might only see it four or five times a year. But the Tiger entertainer needs some work. His best moments on the mic may not be him crying laughing at Kevin Kisner’s racket and saying his mom is saying hi. The league needs more of him in this regard to have long-term growth.

Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): The dream scenario was the sought-after sim league for some walks that brought out the best in Tiger. This did not happen. Instead, Woods looked ordinary at best … as ordinary as Tiger Woods can look, anyway. His speed looked okay, but his iron game and short game left a lot to be desired. Tiger doubling over with laughter after Kiz’s bunker shot was fun, if only because it showed Tiger in a state we rarely see him in. But it goes without saying that TGL will need Woods reacting to good shots more than bad ones if this thing is going to fly.

Two weeks ago, TGL’s highly anticipated debut drew 919,000 average viewers on ESPN, and Tiger’s debut last week pushed that number to over a million. Now that viewers know what TGL is (and won’t be seeing Tiger this week), what do you expect to see from the ratings? Can TGL continue to increase viewership? How much will we learn from this coming week’s numbers?

Colgan: The biggest questions for TGL are still ahead of them. Will people continue to care when the novelty and Tiger factors wear off? Ratings will be lower, but by how much? I’d say anything in the 700-800K range again this week would be a win.

Schrock: I agree, James. It was no shock that over a million people tuned in to watch The cat goes to “Eye of the Tiger” and silly with Max Homa and Kevin Kisner. I expect them to be big numbers in two weeks when Tiger comes back and takes on Rory’s team. But how many people will watch Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Billy Horschel against Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick? If there’s no massive drop off this week, then TGL should feel good about its chances of building some sort of audience while working on dirt.

Bastable: Hard to imagine a scenario in which this week’s numbers don’t take a hit, and not just because of Tiger’s absence. If you tuned in to the first two events, you witnessed two drama-starved shots and also strange looks from world-class players who saw seemingly well-placed wedge shots miss their marks by 10 or 15 meters. Both of these developments could keep viewers coming back for a third week in a row.

Speaking of television viewership, LIV Golf will open the 2025 season with a long-awaited TV deal with Foxone that ensures more than half of this season’s schedule will air live on Fox or FS1 with additional rounds available on other Fox properties. While it should obviously increase viewership numbers on LIV, how much of an impact do you think it will have on eyeballs and growing interest? A little, or a lot?

Colgan: I’d say this TV deal is Greg Norman’s legacy as CEO of LIV. He convinced his friends, the Murdochs, to sign up to LIV, legitimizing the league’s television audience for at least 2 years. But will this deal in fact legitimize league? I am suspicious. I think most golf fans have decided by now about LIV.

Schrock: Airing LIV Miami on FOX or FS1 instead of the CW and Caffeine TV is an obvious step, but I don’t think that’s a reason to believe that fans will now suddenly flock to see LIV. After three seasons, fans who like LIV and what it presents will be watching, and everyone else will either enter the PGA Tour or go out and play golf themselves. Having LIV air before the final episode of “9-1-1 Lone Star” won’t move the needle for most.

Bastable: Right, simply broadcasting LIV events on network TV doesn’t solve the league’s viewership problem. For most fans, it will feel like so little is a stake in LIV events because, aside from the money carts, so little IS in danger. All of that is likely to change, of course — whatever the PIF and PGA Tour are cooking up will likely give more LIV competitions. And you have to understand that the Fox brass have some knowledge of whatever plan that might be.

Tyrrell Hatton held off Daniel Hillier to win at the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday to take his second win in his last five starts and he has finished in the top 10 in all six of his starts since the end of the 2024 LIV season. Is Hatton ready to have the best player of 2025 out of any LIV Golf player? If not, who will?

Colgan: Jon Rahm! He is officially on for a degree. Also, if Bryson maintains his 2024 form, he will be the favorite in every field,

Schrock: I think Hatton is a top sleeper contender. He has been playing well at LIV and has now won two DP World Tour events in his last starts. But I think it will be Rahm. He knows the narrative that’s out there after his big season last year, and I think he’s going to bounce back in a big way this year. I would go Rahm, Bryson and then Hatton. But don’t be surprised if Hatton fights and wins at Quail Hollow or Oakmont.

Bastable: It’s Bryson’s World (and YouTube channel); we all just live in it. He has another big win in him this year, and maybe a couple. LIV should design BDC in as many ways as possible.

Seventeen years old Blades Brown made his professional debut at American Express, missing the cut but impressing with a second-round 64 on the Nicklaus Tour Course. What do you think about the game of the new phenomenon?

Colgan: Maybe this is too much, but he looks thus young. It reminds you that he’s still many, many years from his athletic peak, and yet he’s hitting the short lines in his PGA Tour debut. He has a bright future ahead.

Schrock: I was equally impressed his maturity and mental outlook as I was from his game. I think he proved that he made the right decision to turn pro at the age of 17. There is a green arrow pointing straight up for Blades Brown.

Bastable: There was a time, not too long ago, when we couldn’t fathom how well-prepared college-aged players were for the PGA Tour; now we’re saying the same thing about high school age players. Kids these days! Also, Brown blades. What a name. He was destined for great things.

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