Tiger Woods, whose skill and charm helped bring golf to new levels during his prime, took on a new challenge on Tuesday when he made his debut in the tech-driven indoor team golf league he co-founded with Rory McIlroy.
At 49, Woods wasn’t at his best during the match, as his Jupiter Links Golf Club team was beaten 12-1 by Los Angeles Golf Club. However, despite the tough loss, Woods enjoyed the fast-paced twist to the traditional game.
“We were entertaining. We hit a lot of shots. I think the people here, they got to see how bad pros can be,” Woods said with a smile. “It was just a boat race. Oh, my goodness. But we had a great time.”
One week after the league’s launch, Woods, one of the biggest names in golf, made his debut hoping to help attract a younger and newer audience to the sport.
With his mother and son Charlie among the 1,500 fans in attendance, Woods took the field wearing a red shirt and white pants. There was no formal introduction, just the sounds of “Eye of the Tiger” playing through the speakers.
Though the setting was very different from the famous Augusta National, where Woods has won five Masters titles, the 15-time major winner still captured the attention of the crowd throughout the two-hour match, even if his game wasn’t perfect.
“It’s really neat, and it was intimate. I think that’s one of the cool things about it,” Woods said. “It’s about entertaining. We had a laugh.”
After missing the cut at the 2024 British Open, Woods had back surgery in September and hadn’t played until December, when he competed alongside his son in a 36-hole event.
Before taking the first shot at the five-story simulator screen, Woods helped energize the crowd by using “The Hammer,” which doubled the points for the first hole to two.
Woods, teaming up with Kevin Kisner and Max Homa in alternate shots, hit a 270-yard shot that landed in the fairway. However, they shared the hole with the Los Angeles trio of Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa, and Sahith Theegala.
Although Woods’ team was on the losing side, Jupiter Links had some fun with the situation, with Kisner jokingly asking Woods’ son if he wanted to play.
Woods tied Rose on the opening hole of their two-hole head-to-head “singles” match but lost the second after finding water off the tee and hitting a bunker shot that landed in the same hazard.
“This is unique. This is something that golf has never seen before,” Woods said. “To have an arena like this and to be able to go out there with great guys, entertain everyone, just have fun. The new tech with — I know my family was blown away by the enormity of the space, and then on top of that, the rotating green. It’s really neat, and it was intimate.”
