Tiger Woods, the headline player and co-founder of TGL, did not play in the simulator golf league’s first night—instead he waited a week in what was widely believed to be a strategic move to keep interest and buzz high for the new venture.
That turned out to be a smart move.
ESPN reported Wednesday that the second TGL match, in which Tiger Woods’s Jupiter Links was soundly defeated 12-1 by Los Angeles Golf Club, drew an average audience of 1 million viewers. That’s a 9% increase from the inaugural match on Jan. 7.
According to the network, viewership peaked at 1.1 million from 8:30-8:45 p.m. and was steady in the 1 million range from 7:30 until past 9 p.m. The match ran 18 minutes past the allotted 7-9 p.m. window, forcing the start of a Duke-Miami basketball game to be moved to ESPNews.
In the first week of TGL, The Bay Golf Club easily defeated New York Golf Club 9-2. The new league hasn’t had a close match yet.
Next Tuesday’s match will see the first appearance of Atlanta Drive Golf Club against New York Golf Club. Rory McIlroy, another co-founder of TGL along with Woods, will likely play for the first time on Monday, Jan. 27, on his Boston Common Golf team against Woods’s Jupiter Links. Four players are on each team but only three play per match, though it’s hard to imagine Woods and McIlroy wouldn’t both play in what would likely be another popular night with viewers.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tiger Woods’s TGL Debut Draws Higher Ratings on ESPN Than League’s Opening Night.
