TGL, the screen golf league founded by Tiger Woods and career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy, is heading into its third season. The league, which stirred the golf world with a 19.5-meter by 16-meter screen, a high-tech golf simulator and a green whose undulations change on every hole, is set to rewrite its viewership records when Season 3 opens on Dec. 27.
TGL averaged 488,000 viewers per match in Season 2, down about 2% from 498,000 in Season 1, according to figures released by TMRW Sports, which operates the league, and reported by Sports Business Journal, ESPN and other U.S. outlets on the 23rd.
A closer look, however, shows the league's momentum has strengthened. About 21.78 million people watched at least one Season 2 broadcast, up 8% from 20.21 million in Season 1. Playoff viewership jumped 42% to 618,000 from 434,000.
Woods was at the center of that draw. The Season 2 final in March, in which he played, averaged 989,000 viewers and peaked at 1.15 million.
Kevin Kisner, who was released by TGL's Jupiter Links GC, said on a recent podcast that he left the team because Woods wanted to play every match in the new season — a hint at a return. Woods has been largely out of sight with injuries and recently drew criticism over reckless driving. If he plays consistently from the regular season, TGL could reach the 1 million viewers it has long sought.
The league's biggest commercial asset is the influx of younger fans. The average age of viewers of PGA Tour broadcasts is in the mid-60s, while TGL's average viewer is in the early to mid-50s — more than 10 years younger. More than 30% of its viewers were counted as new consumers who had not regularly watched existing golf media, a meaningful shift for the sport as a whole. Social media video views surged 86% to 232 million in Season 2 from 81.3 million in Season 1.
Its revenue model has also firmed up. SoFi Center, the league's 1,500-seat dedicated venue in Florida, has drawn a cumulative audience of more than 27,000. The number of corporate partners rose to nine in Season 2 from three at the January launch last year. ESPN, the broadcast rights holder, recently signed a multiyear extension with TGL after seeing its potential as a business.
Players have escaped the pressure of the main tour while collecting hefty prize money. Under TGL's format, the total purse a team wins is split among its players. The biggest earners over the two seasons are Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose of LA Golf Club, who finished third in Season 1 and won Season 2 for cumulative earnings of $2.8125 million each, or about 3.73 billion won.
TGL is expanding further this winter, growing to seven teams from six and to five players per team from four, for a total of 35.
Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open champion, added to the storylines by moving to the team of close friend McIlroy in the first trade in TGL history. With Kim Si-woo joining the league, the number of South Korean players rises to two alongside Kim Joo-hyung.
WTGL, the women's league, opens its first season earlier, on Nov. 8. It features five teams and 25 players, including Yoon Lee-na.