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It seems you either love TGL or hate it. Rory McIlroy’s former manager appears to be in the camp of the latter.

Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler has taken an extraordinary swipe at the new indoor, tech-infused golf league conceived by his former client McIlroy in partnership with Tiger Woods and the PGA Tour.

Chandler, once one of the game’s most influential agents, shared his feelings on TGL – which staged its second event overnight – in a conversation with Prime Casino.

“I actually made a plan to be awake at 2am to watch that,” he said. “I was completely open-minded. I had no idea whether I was going to really like it or really hate it, and I think the public have missed the point of what it is. And the point of what it is, is paying 20 top guys instead of f****** LIV Golf. That’s what it is.

• McEwan: How would I describe TGL? Fun, but largely forgettable.

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“However they dress it up, they’re giving all these top players the money because they’ve not gone to LIV. It’s all about putting cash in their pockets.”

Chandler was particularly critical of Woods, who made an inauspicious TGL debut on Tuesday as his Jupiter Links outfit lost 12-1 at the hands of the Collin Morikawa-helmed Los Angeles Golf Club.

“Tiger didn’t crack a joke for 20 years when he was winning every week,” he said. “He almost didn’t smile. He now thinks he’s an entertainer.

“He’s got his headphones on, he thinks he’s cool doing this and that and the other.”

Chandler also shared his belief that TGL and LIV have both missed a trick by not including LPGA stars, such as Charley Hull.

• Rory McIlroy explains what TGL has done better than LIV

• Everything you need to know about TGL

“The team event at LIV should have had women in it, then it would have looked like a team event, but it never looked like a team event because they just had four players playing an individual tournament and added the scores together.

“I think TGL have probably missed the same thing, but that’s why it is money for the boys. Why wouldn’t you have Charley Hull, otherwise?

“Charley Hull would be more entertaining than all the other players on Tuesday night, so long as they made it not a non-smoking area. She would have been brilliant on it.”

TGL: The verdict!

TGL was the main subject of conversation on this week’s episode of The bunkered Podcast. Tune-in below or search for ‘The bunkered Podcast’ wherever you get your podcasts.


author headshot

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor

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