Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods will be happy to have got one over LIV Golf (Image: Getty)
and innovative golf project TGL got off to a roaring start earlier this week after hosting its inaugural fixture, with millions of fans tuning in to prove the Irish golfer was spot on with his prediction.
On Tuesday night, TGL was watched by over 3.2 million viewers as The Bay Golf Club thrashed New York Golf Club 9-2 in its first match, according to Zoomph.
That figure comfortably beat all the other sporting events in the United States on that particular evening, including the NBA and college basketball.
Overall, the event averaged over 1.2m viewers during the course of the entire showing on ESPN – a highly impressive total that
On the other side at LIV Golf, there is no TV deal in place for the Saudi-backed league, although that may not be the case for much longer amid rumours of a deal with U.S giant Fox.
That means LIV are entirely reliant on viewers tuning into streams hosted on its official app or watching events broadcasted for free on YouTube.
Their opening event in January 2023 bringing in an average viewership of more than 537,000 people, which shows how it fell way below TGL’s impressive opening figures.
Woods and McIlroy have found a niche area of the golf market that viewers seem to have engaged with. During the winter months, when conditions are often tricky on the runways, indoor golf offers a refreshing alternative.
Upping the pressure.
— TGL (@TGL)
It appears that the quirky nature of the competition has resonated well with golf fans, who enjoy hitting the ranges and playing TopGolf.
As McIlroy pointed out at the launch in December, TGL is not a rival to LIV Golf in its makeup, but it may well surpass it in terms of popularity.
“I think what TGL has done a good job of is trying to locate in the different teams in cities or geographies where you can really plug into the wider sports fans of that city,” McIlroy said in December.
“Obviously with Boston Common, and everyone knowing the intensity with which Boston fans support their teams, trying to plug into that.
LIV Golf’s viewing figures were much lower than what TGL received on its opening night (Image: Getty)
“Fenway owns the team so plugging into the Red Sox fans and everyone else, whether it be the Celtics or the Bruins or the Patriots. That to me gives you a connection to something which is great.
“We have got Keegan (Bradley) as well. Keegan is from that area so he is so proud to be playing for a Boston sports team.
“I think that is what TGL have done maybe a little bit better – to connect with certain fan bases than let’s say LIV for example.
“But I see this all being complementary. There are only so many weeks in the year, there is only so much golf we can all play, but I see this as being complementary to everything else going on in the game of golf.”