Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. (Image: Getty)
and have been given cause for concern by a star who has yet to make his debut in their TGL venture. The new virtual concept, designed to attract a new audience to the sport, on January 7.
The opening night at the SoFi Centre attracted a television audience of more than 919,000 people, and the number was soon elevated when Woods made his first appearance.
But interest has since seemingly dropped, leading to doubts about whether the project is sustainable long-term.
As for McIlroy, his Boston Commons team have got off to a difficult start, and also hammered by Los Angeles 6-2. The Northern Irishman however, will be hoping Hideki Matsuyama makes an impact when he debuts alongside him next Monday night.
However, the Japanese star has now revealed he’s not even bothered to watch a full TGL show so far. And ahead of his defence of the Genesis Invitational this week, he didn’t give off the aura of a man excited to get going.
“I watched the opener maybe for 10, 15 minutes,” he admitted. “I still haven’t visited the arena, so there are lots of things I need to study, but I’m really looking forward to playing next week.”
Hideki Matsuyama will make his TGL debut on February 17. (Image: Getty)
Despite the latter claim, the 32-year-old conceding he hadn’t even checked out the venue will surely worry the two icons in charge. And it follows warnings from another participant, Billy Horschel, that to maintain interest players involved need to captivate the audience with more than just their golf skills.
“If the players are not entertaining and not engaging, if they’re not talking and dissecting stuff, we’re not going to be successful,” he said. “We have to be entertainers.
“We have to take ourselves away from what we are at PGA Tour tournaments inside the ropes and we have to be different. We have to show more of ourselves in here than we would out on the course.”
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The TGL was first announced in August 2022, a period where relations between the and were virtually non-existent. After its planned launch in 2024 was delayed, the inaugural season has teed off amid peace talks between the two warring factions.
A potential merger could further cast doubt on the future of the TGL, initially an apparent attempt from McIlroy and Woods to stave off the threat of the Saudi-backed tour. However, ESPN have already agreed to a ‘multi-year’ deal to broadcast matches.