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It was The Match! Two champions, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were to face each other in an 18-hole match at the Shadows Creek Golf Course in Nevada. Everything looked perfect, and Woods had won an event just two months prior. The fans were excited to see him win again. The only way to watch The Match in 2018 was through pay-per-view. The event producers, Turner Sports, introduced the first golf match to be accessed through cable or direct TV and Bleacher Report Live but through pay-per-view.

Right as Mickelson and Woods geared up on the first tee, things went haywire for the viewers and producers. Even after purchasing the product, the fans could not get on. Turner Sports’s then-president, David Levy, talked about the famous bout at the Fairway to Heaven podcast and said, “On B/R Live we had a lot of subscribers signing on; we took their money, and all of a sudden we could not get through the Amazon firewall.” The match could be seen through TV and cable, but B/R Live suffered a glitch, and the fans were getting impatient. They had bought it for $19.99 and wanted to see it immediately.

Phil Mickelson explains how his relationship changed with Tiger Woods

Levy had to risk it all. He either could let the paywall be there or remove it and then everyone—those who paid and who didn’t—gets to watch. It could either be the worst pay-per-view experience for the fans or the best match they had seen of Woods & Lefty. Levy chose the latter; eventually, the paywall was removed, and everyone watched the 2018 edition of The Match for free. The downside? Levy said, “As far as the pay-per-view and the money side from the pay-per-view side, my friends on the cable side didn’t pay us a dime… We got no pay-per-view money from the entire event.”

So, they had to refund those who already purchased the pay-per-view, and the cable guys didn’t pay them either. You could call the match a failure. But the former president of Turner Sports accepted that from the viewership side, the event was a success with more than a million fans tuning in, even though they failed to profit from it.

There has never been something like TGL in golf’s history. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are set to change the scene of the traditional game and make it more entertaining and engaging. The simulator screen is 24 times the size of the normal one, and the 24 top Tour golfers on the TGL roster will certainly play never-before-seen golf. As it happens with all new things, there are questions and criticism surrounding TGL.

TGL’s spokesperson, Roger Steele, a popular golf content creator, answered one such comment. A user commented on the format of the simulator league and how it has six different teams: Atlanta, Boston, Jupiter, Los Angeles, New York, and the Bay, but the golfers are not from those cities. They said, “Makes zero sense. Do the players live where the team is representing? Seems like a stretch.”

However, it is not a stretch, as TGL is not the only league where athletes represent cities they weren’t born in or reside in. Thus, Steele slapped back, saying, “This comment is a stretch. Is Steph Curry really from the Bay? Is Josh Allen from Buffalo? Is Giannis from Milwaukee? Is Derek Jeter from New York? Is Jackie Moon from the Tropic? Really from Flint, Michigan? The answer is no. But does that stop fans in those cities from supporting them? No.”

Tiger Woods' Net Worth and Businesses—PGA, Nike, Gatorade, and a Mini Golf  Chain

So, as the TGL spokesperson, the golf content creator also asked the golf and TGL fans, “Whether it’s a player or a team, just pick a TGL presented by SoFi team and lock in.” The innovative league will start on January 7th with Xander Schauffele‘s New York Golf Club against Wyndham Clark’s The Bay GC, which can be watched on ESPN at 9:00 p.m. EST.

Well, this is not the first time there have been doubts about TGL and the entire simulator golf concept. The golf fans have more than one reservation for the unique tournament.

Tiger Woods’s TGL already has many backlashes following it

Even before the first event of TGL’s 2025 schedule started, the question about the simulator league’s legitimacy has been around. At first, TGL was supposed to be inaugurated in the 2024 season but after the air dome-shaped SoFi center was damaged, the schedule was pushed to 2025. Now, as it gears up for the first event, the golf enthusiasts doubt that it will be a long-term thing.

Speaking for most OG golf supporters, one user had said, “I think I speak for everyone when I say we will watch this once and then never again.” While the format itself didn’t strike intrigue for many fans, another issue at hand was the ticket prices for the team matches. The general admission ticket for one will cost $160 for a TGL match, which will be played on the simulator.

Media personality Piers Morgan has confessed that he would pay money to watch Tiger Woods play golf until he was 90-year-old. 

Morgan has been playing alongside pro Matthew Jordan at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland this week when he made his bold claim.

READ  MORE: Why Tiger Woods announces break from golf after disaster at The Open as career plan laid out

Tiger Woods

The TV host and Arsenal football fan has long been an admirer of the world’s best sports stars. Including 15-time major winner Woods.

Although the golfing legend has been plagued by injuries and controversies – including a legal battle with a clothing brand, Morgan also insisted that Woods should continue playing for as long as possible.

Piers Morgan On Tiger Woods

I think Tiger should play as long as he wants. I would pay to watch Tiger Woods until he’s 90. So if he wants to keep playing golf, let him play.

I remember him being written off last time, and then he won the Masters again. And suddenly all the critics that told him to give up, look very, very stupid.

I would never, ever write off Tiger Woods. Obviously, his body’s not quite there yet, but if he was to get back to proper fitness, he’s an incredible athlete, with amazing mental strength — why can’t he carry on?

Charlie Woods: Tiger Woods

I think Tiger is the greatest to ever play the game. Just think peak Tiger, if you watch the videos of him or watched him at the time as I did, and you compare him to any other golfer in history, there’s no comparison, I don’t think.

Obviously there are other greats, but peak Tiger Woods, he would have killed everyone,’ Morgan explained.

RELATED: Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Prize Money 2024: Winners Earnings And Full Price Breakdown

Watch Piers Morgan’s Stinker At The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

If Piers Morgan thinks he can replicate just a fraction of Tiger Woods’ golfing success then he should probably think again! Especially after he screwed his tee shot on the 16th at St Andrews.

Morgan’s terrible attempt was being filmed and his immediate reaction demonstrated just how bad he knew he had done. And many were quick to let him know on X, formerly Twitter.

Tiger Woods

One account with the handle @fergpj simply posted ‘Haha. What a clown.’ Another saw their chance to strike by simply saying ‘Just like Arsenal. Bottled it.’

It’s highly unlikely Morgan will lose any sleep over his tee shot or the comments that came with it. However, he does need to work on his swing a considerable amount if he wants to improve.

Scroll down for the Piers Morgan shocker.

Tiger Woods’ 15-year-old son was attempting to clear the first hurdle towards qualifying for June’s US Open at Pinehurst; Charlie Woods finished nine over in local qualifying event in Florida, with only the top five progressing to final qualifying for the year’s third major

Charlie Woods fell short in his first-ever attempt to qualify for the US Open.

The 15-year-old, whose father is three-time US Open winner Tiger Woods, shot a nine-over 81 at his local qualifier at The Legacy Golf and Tennis Club in Florida to finish the single-day event in a tie for 61st place.

Only the top five finishers in the 84-player event advanced to the final qualifying for this year’s US Open, which is returning for the first time in a decade to Pinehurst No 2 on June 13-16 – live on Sky Sports Golf.

Tiger Woods and son Charlie shoot 10-under in first round of PNC  Championship

 

The teenage Woods was featuring in one of 109 local qualifying events that are taking place across the USA and Canada in April and May, with the leading finishers in each then progressing to the 13 final qualifying sites in late May and early June.

There were 10,052 entries for 2024’s open qualifying.

Woods’ scorecard included one birdie, four bogeys and three double bogeys. He shot a 40 on the front nine and 41 on the back nine.

It was his second attempt to qualify for a Tour event this year after the teenager competed in a pre-qualifier for the Cognizant Classic in February. He shot an 86 on that occasion.

Tiger and Charlie have played together at the last four PNC Championships, finishing runners-up in 2021.

Played over 36 holes every December, the tournament is for major champions or winners of The Players Championship. It began as a father-son outing but now has players with daughters, grandchildren, even parents as their partners as well.

Tiger Woods will not be playing the weekend at this week’s Open Championship, in the aftermath admitted it will be a long while before he returns to action

Tiger Woods has announced he will be taking a break from competitive golf after enduring a tough week at The Open Championship at Royal Troon.

Woods’ championship ended prematurely on Friday, finishing at 14-over-par through 36-holes, missing the cut by some distance. Much had been said heading into the event about his future, with Colin Montgomerie suggesting it could well be time for the 48-year-old to call time on his career.

Tiger Woods

Woods however had other ideas, teeing it up at Royal Troon in his fifth start of 2024 having competed at the Genesis Invitational, as well as the Masters, PGA Championship and US Open.

On the back of a difficult week, the 15-time major champion confirmed in the aftermath that he would not be teeing it up on the PGA Tour until the Hero World Challenge in December. “I’m not going to play until then [the Hero World Challenge],” Woods said.

“I’m going to just keep getting physically better and keep working on it.” The three-time Open champion also outlined his plans to once again play in the PNC Championship, where he will partner his son Charlie.

He added: “Hopefully just come back for our, what is it, our fifth major, the Father/Son [PNC Championship], so looking forward to it.” Many wondered whether this would be Woods’ last Open, having struggled to compete, whilst also offering a wave to the Troon galleries on his way off the 18th.

This was not an Open goodbye though, with Woods admitting afterwards that he has every intention of competing at Royal Portrush next year. Asked if he will be playing at the Northern Irish setup in 2025, he replied: “Next year’s Open? Yeah, definitely,” with a wide smile.

Tiger Woods

Having kicked off his championship with an eight-over 79 on Thursday, Woods left himself with plenty of work to do in round two, but once again struggled to find his best golf. A seven-over 78 followed on day two, with the testing Troon conditions proving all too much for the 82-time PGA Tour winner.

Assessing his Friday, Woods said: “Well it wasn’t very good. I made a double there at 2 right out of the hopper when I needed to go the other way. Just was fighting it pretty much all day. I never really hit it close enough to make birdies and consequently made a lot of bogeys.”

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