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Tiger Woods insists his epic match-up against Rory McIlroy was exactly what he envisioned for TGL – but he surely can’t have envisioned becoming the first player in the league’s history to receive a shot clock violation.

In a much needed closer affair after the opening TGL washouts, Woods’ Jupiter Links Golf Club trio defeated McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf outfit 4-3 on overtime on Monday night.

This was McIlroy’s debut in the tech-infused golf league at the 1,500-capacity SoFi Center in Florida and, against business partner and fellow “needle mover” Woods, this proved the most compelling TGL night yet.

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Woods’ teammates Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner secured victory for Jupiter Links after winning a nearest-the-pin contest in overtime.

The main flashpoint involving Woods, however, was when the 15-time major champion spent too long over an eight foot putt. The 15-time major champion was timed out on the par-5 10th hole when looking to tie the hole, allowing McIlroy’s Boston Common side to win the hole.

The shot clock is one of the innovative features in TGL and it has not been lost on fans that something similar could help fix the glacial pace of play on the PGA Tour.

Regardless of that one particular lapse, though, Woods was delighted with his night’s work.

“It couldn’t have been a more pleasurable display of golf, banter,” he said afterwards. “Everyone in the audience was engaged. Hopefully all the viewership were engaged. We as players loved it.

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“This is what we had envisioned for TGL, to have an experience like this, and I think we delivered.”

McIlroy was similarly enthused after his first competitive TGL experience.

“It was a great match all night, back and forth, and exactly what the league needed,” said the Northern Irishman.

“One of the visions when we started was to try to engage that younger demographic and give them a bite-sized version of golf that they could get into and understand, and hopefully we’ve done that.”


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Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.

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