WTGL Has ‘Surreal’ Debut as Newest Women’s Sports League

WTGL, a newly launched indoor team women's golf league inspired by the men's TGL league, commenced its inaugural match on Sunday with an energetic atmosphere and celebrity attendance. The Los Angeles Golf Club defeated the New York Golf Club with a score of 3-1 at the SoFi Center, a venue that also hosts TGL matches. The league's six LPGA players showcased enthusiasm for the new opportunity, with Michelle Wie West, who had recently returned from retirement, expressing that the experience felt "really surreal."

Notably, Nelly Korda, the top-ranked women's golfer, did not participate in WTGL's first season, expressing earlier this year that she believed the league should include women's players in the existing TGL rather than creating a separate league. WTGL has five teams of five players each, with three players competing per team in matches consisting of 15 holes. The league's season-long purse totals $11 million.

The excitement surrounding WTGL's debut was evident among the sell-out crowd of notable team and league investors, as well as fellow TGL players. Among the attendees were Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams from L.A., Andy Cohen from New York, Jozy Altidore, and other team members from both clubs. LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler, TMRW Sports CEO Mike McCarley, and ESPN Vice President Rosalyn Durant were also present.

WTGL airs on ESPN and Ion, with a broadcast team consisting of Justin Kutcher on play-by-play, Emilia Doran as on-field analyst, and Taylor Tannebaum as sideline reporter on ESPN broadcasts. Addie Parker covers the league on Ion. The league's official technology partner, Full Swing, is a golf simulator company with Woods as an investor.

Despite some initial challenges with the technology, Wie West reported that the system was "pretty accurate" and that she expected the learning curve to improve as players became more accustomed to it.