The audience is virtually not there.
PublishedJanuary 8, 2026 10:15 AM EST•UpdatedJanuary 8, 2026 9:58 AM EST
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The TGL indoor golf league was something new, innovative, and fresh when it officially launched in January 2025. Fast-forward a year and two matches into season two, and ratings show that interest in watching PGA Tour players hit into a screen has dwindled, and mightily.
The league, co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, made the bold decision to hold its season two opener on the afternoon of December 28. If you go back and check your calendar, you’ll see December 28 was a Sunday, meaning the TGL picked an unwinnable battle against the NFL.
The season two opener averaged 646k viewers on ABC, compared to the inaugural season opener, held on a Tuesday, drew an average of 919k viewers on ESPN.
The second match of season two was played in primetime on January 2, a Friday, which saw McIlroy’s Boston Common GC team earn a victory with an average of 354k viewers on ESPN 2. That average viewership number is a 17% increase compared to last season’s matches broadcast on the four-letter network’s second channel, but that doesn’t automatically make it an impressive one.
The viewership numbers for season two’s first two matches come from Nielsen Big Data + Panel research, while last year’s ratings came via panel data only, meaning ratings for season one were likely slightly higher, making the difference year over year a bit more drastic.
TGL Golf ratings are…not great. (Photo by Megan Briggs/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images)
The most-watched TGL match was Woods’ debut with his Jupiter Links Golf Club in the inaugural season, which saw 1.05 million viewers tune in.
TGL Expanding, But To What Audience?
While TGL’s newest endeavor was in the works long before the season two debut and the poor ratings emerged, it’s still an interesting decision, and one that is incredibly unlikely to increase viewership.
On January 6, it was announced that a women’s WTGL league will be launching in the winter of 2026-27 with teams featuring LPGA Tour stars. Showcasing some of the best female golfers on the planet in a more casual, still (slightly) competitive environment is great, but it won’t draw an audience of any significance.
No, drawing an audience isn’t everything, but ratings are important, and introducing a women’s-only indoor golf league will not move any sort of needle.
The biggest head-scratcher in all of this is why the TGL didn’t simply add LPGA players, a few new teams, and have mixed matches with the best players from the men’s and women’s side competing with and against each other.
The golf world has been screaming for a mixed event of some official capacity, and this certainly feels like the prime opportunity.
Crossover events between the TGL and WTGL will surely, hopefully, happen, but you can’t guarantee anything when you’re also talking about a league that held its season two debut in the middle of an NFL Sunday.