TGL has teed off its second season on ESPN, and some big developments are already on the way for the simulator golf league created by TMRW Sports.
On Tuesday, TGL announced it will launch a women’s version of TGL, dubbed WTGL, starting next winter. The women’s league will begin following the 2026 LPGA season and emanate from the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, the same venue the men currently compete out of.
It is still “to be determined” where WTGL matches will air, according to a report by Josh Carpenter in Sports Business Journal. And the same can be said, apparently, for the men’s version of TGL, which is currently in the middle of a two-year rights agreement with ESPN.
“The opportunity largely based on schedule is going to be there for current or existing media partners and then potentially new media partners as well,” TMRW Sports co-founder Mike McCarley said.
Ratings for TGL’s debut season in 2025 were mostly solid, averaging 498,000 viewers per match across ESPN and ESPN2. The 10 primetime TGL matches on ESPN last season averaged 655,000 viewers, up 2% versus the programming it replaced the prior year.
Whether that will be enough for ESPN to want to continue its relationship with the league will be tested this season. TGL generally airs during low-wattage days and television windows, avoiding popular programming like football. In prior years, ESPN would typically air men’s and women’s college basketball in the comparable windows.
There are some fairly obvious potential partners should ESPN choose not to continue its deal past this season, or TGL finds a better fit elsewhere. Versant, the newly spun off company holding Golf Channel and USA Network, could certainly be interested. TGL would provide some really solid weekday night programming for Golf Channel. Another possibility could be a network like The CW or Ion, both of which have been active in bidding for non-premium sports rights. Ion has placed a large emphasis on women’s sports, making WTGL a particularly strong fit for its portfolio.
Should TGL and ESPN part ways, the question will be how much ESPN’s exposure kept the league on solid footing, and whether the audience will transfer to another network partner. TGL’s second season, and if it can maintain solid audience figures, will go a long way in determining what its future looks like on both the men’s and women’s side.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.