Tiger Woods makes indoor golf debut and finds humor in losing, noting ‘how bad the pros can be’

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Tiger Woods was the sixth and final player to walk out of the tunnel and onto the course for his TGL debut Tuesday night.

No one has released his name. It wasn’t necessary.

Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” thundered and that was more than enough introduction for perhaps the greatest golfer ever. Not that anyone at Palm Beach State College’s SoFi Center didn’t know who Woods was, and most were probably even aware that he, Rory McIlroy and others had spent years trying to bring this idea of ​​indoor golf to TV.

“It’s a reality now,” Woods said.

Week 2 of the TGL was on Tuesday night – Woods joined Jupiter Links Golf Club’s Kevin Kisner and Max Homa to take on the Los Angeles Golf Club of Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegale.

The final score: Los Angeles 12, Jupiter 1 in a 15-hole, made-for-TV team match featuring nine holes of alternating triple play, followed by six holes of singles — two holes for each player on each team. Woods smiled throughout, even with the score tied. The format is such that during the match, which lasted a little over two hours, he made only 20 shots.

“We had fun,” Woods said, still laughing even after the victory ended inside an arena built just a few miles from his home on Jupiter Island. “We hit a lot of shots. I think people there need to see how bad the professionals can be. It was just a boat race, oh my god. But we had a great time.”

Woods’ team quickly got on the wrong side of the scoreboard, trailing 5-0. It could have been worse had Woods not made an 8-footer for par to help his team even on the fifth hole. That putt came on one hole after Woods slid 7 feet wide to the left.

“It’s about time, Tiger,” tennis legend Serena Williams said on ESPN. Williams is a longtime friend of Woods, so she was rooting for him — and she’s part of the ownership group of the Los Angeles Golf Club, so she was rooting against him at the same time.

There were vintage Woods moments, like watching shots he liked while super-high-tech video boards told the story of where the ball went in the open. There were also frustrating ones; he shook his head after sending a 101-yard wedge into the water on the second hole of the 15-hole match – while son Charlie, sitting in one of the arena seats overlooking the course, couldn’t help but laugh.

“This is unique. This is something golf has never seen before,” Woods said. “You have an arena like this and you’re there with great guys, entertain everybody, just have fun.”

It wasn’t just Charlie Woods who was laughing at the Jupiter Links game. And Tiger Woods – especially when Kisner hit a shot out of the sand and it bounced off the pin as his teammates ducked for cover.

“Honestly, we didn’t think anyone could get hit here,” Woods said.

Golf could be a hit. Woods hoped viewers would watch until the end; Homa suggested Duke fans would still be watching, since the Blue Devils played Miami on ESPN after golf ended. And Woods, who walked with his son at the tournament last month, appeared to be physically fit — at least in the sense that he didn’t seem to be holding anything back while swinging.

Physically he said he felt fine. As for golf: “Walking is not a problem. My game is not good,” Woods said.

Williams sat in the Los Angeles box, to the right of the players’ concourse, enjoying the spectacle of the leadoffs, light and smoke shows and loud music.

“It’s so wild,” Williams said. “It’s something you see a little bit in tennis. We see it all the time in basketball, don’t we? We don’t really see that much in golf. Actually, we never see that in golf. It’s so good to see their personalities and see them shine as golfers. … It’s so cool to see a new aspect.”