Look, we’re not going to say that TGL, the tech-infused indoor golf league, plays right in the middle… but Tiger Woods made his TGL debut with “Eye of the Tiger.” This is as safe and straightforward as it gets.

Woods helped found TGL and his appearance on the new league’s second night was the catalyst. But despite having more majors than everyone else on the course combined and quadrupling his size, Woods was unable to lead his Jupiter Links Golf Club to victory, losing to LA Golf Club 12-1.

Tuesday night marked just the second time since the 2024 Open Championship that Woods played competitive golf in any form. And like the previous event — the Parent-Child PNC Championship, where Woods played with son Charlie and used a cart in December — TGL was a low-impact, low-stress version of golf.

Woods claimed the honor of teeing off to start the evening and missed his opening shot. Unfortunately, that was the best performance he and Jupiter had in the first few holes. Kevin Kisner, one of Woods’ two teammates, played like he was ready for the broadcast booth. Max Homa, Jupiter’s third, was steadier but didn’t have much room to maneuver as LA took a 5-0 lead on the first three holes.

With team owners Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian in attendance, the LA trio – Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala – grabbed the early lead with a combination of precise approaches, long putts and Jupiter errors. Rose in particular seemed to enjoy the crowd element and used his Ryder Cup attitude to hold his own against a clearly pro-Tiger crowd.

Woods was clearly more in the mood to play; He threw the hammer – doubling the hole’s scoring value – before he even teeed off. After making a long putt on the 5th, Woods took a timeout and tried to ice Rose before a crucial putt. (It didn’t work; Rose practiced the putt and waved his finger Mutombo-style at his opponents and the booing crowd.)

Jupiter eventually won the 6th with a concession to get on the board, but Theegala made a long putt on No. 7 to split the hole and break the fragile momentum Jupiter managed. Rose followed with a long clutch putt on No. 8 to capture the hole and give LAGC a 6-1 lead.

The nine-hole triple portion of the TGL ended with an unfamiliar sight: Woods missed a par putt to share the hole. With the hammer in play, LAGC gained an 8-1 lead in singles.

On his final hole of the night, Kisner produced the most ridiculous moment of the game when he pierced the flagstick on an attempted sand save. And then he almost rolled into the long comebacker, but still gave up the hole.

Theegala ended the game with a great drive that Homa conceded, and LAGC stormed to the most dominant win in TGL history by two games.

Despite the internal audience, TGL is primarily a TV-based company, and from that perspective the product still needs an overhaul. ESPN doesn’t seem to have decided yet whether the tone should be serious or light-hearted, and so the coverage vacillates between reverent and silly. TGL should be the equivalent of a televised game of beer pong, not a PGA Tour event, and ESPN should indulge in that weirdness instead of, say, seriously trying to compare LAGC to the Lakers dynasty.

TGL also brings in-house one of the most frightening elements of PGA Tour broadcasts: interviews with sponsor executives. In this case, it doesn’t matter that the executives are famous athletes; A segment with Serena Williams – who clearly has little interest in golf – was difficult to listen to.

Audience also doesn’t translate well to television. In the arena, the fans are loud and the music is pulsating; The echoes and blank spaces are much more visible on television. However, golf fans watching TGL were somewhat pleased with the fact that the Duke-Miami game was moved to the end of TGL on ESPN News; Too often, golf has been secondary to college basketball in the broadcast hierarchy.

TGL returns next week with Xander Schauffele’s New York Golf Club vs. Justin Thomas’ Atlanta Drive Golf Club. New York lost in the first TGL game by forfeit; Atlanta hasn’t played yet. Woods’ Jupiter Links is scheduled to return Jan. 27 when Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf Club makes its debut.