We’re about two months away from the launch of TGL Season 3, and on this lovely fall morning, the hot stove is cooking up some gems. The biggest news of all, covered by our own Alex Myers at the link below, is that Rory McIlroy has managed to work his magic and bring Shane Lowry on board Boston Common, which feels appropriate considering the city’s Irish roots. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg—we’ve got an expansion “Detroit” team featuring Brooks Koepka and Jackson Koivun coming, a renewed multi-year media deal with ESPN, and a women’s TGL that will launch within a month.
Wild times!
So, as we wait for the introduction of a new year of screen golf, let’s take an honest look at how it has gone to date. From a ratings perspective, the 2026 regular season stayed pretty consistent with the inaugural go-round, averaging almost 500,000 viewers, and the playoffs improved on the year before. Those aren’t exactly titanic numbers, and we don’t know the financials behind the new ESPN deal, but the viewers are younger than the average golf audience, and as far as the execs are concerned, it’s good enough for jazz.
But what about the entertainment factor? As in, do we actually like it?
My honest perspective is that it had trouble grabbing me over the first two seasons, and I found myself struggling to get excited. That said, it also surprised me how many of my friends watched it religiously and looked forward to it every week. Screen golf seems like a highly personal taste—for me, it’s claustrophobic and too “busy” in the production sense while being a bit slow in pure action. For at least a dozen of my golf friends, however, it has become appointment viewing. What I intend to find out this year is whether it might be an acquired taste. Is this something that gets better (for me) with repeat viewing? Will I get hit by the TGL thunderbolt at last? The answer to that question writ large, for viewers across America, could determine how much of TGL we see the rest of this decade.
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Like Las Vegas, what happens in Ibiza stays in Ibiza. Unless you wind up getting a tattoo there. Such is the case for Charley Hull, who shared a wild story about her first foray into getting inked. She was in Ibiza. She was 17. And, yes, she was "drunk." Hull told the story during an interview with Golfweek's Adam Schupak that spanned many topics, but the tat tales were certainly a highlight. Take it away, Charley!
“I’ve got three tattoos. I've got one on my foot. I got drunk when I was in Ibiza when I was 17 years old. Me and my friend James went out partying. I was coming back from the club, and I thought it would be a great idea to get a tattoo across my head, because me and my best mate, James, our favorite thing we always said to each other was ‘Hold tight, hold tight.’ He wouldn’t let me get it on my forehead. Instead, I got it on my foot and it says, hold tight. He got a matching one on his arm. We went back to the hotel, woke in the morning hung over, and I went to James, ‘Bloody hell, was I that drunk last night? I walked back with a plastic bag on my foot.’ He said, ‘No, Charley. That's the wrapping after you’ve had your tattoo.’ I was like,‘What? I got a tattoo?’ He said, ‘Yeah, you were trying to get it on your forehead, and we had to stop you there.’”
And that's why you shouldn't drink alcohol, kids!
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At age 31, Jon Rahm is now the father of four. The Spaniard and his wife Kelley Cahill welcomed a girl, Begonia, last week, with Rahm announcing the birth on social media Friday. “Momma and baby are doing great, and we’re soaking up every moment as a family of six,” he wrote on Instagram. The Rahms’ first child, son Kepa, was born in April 2021, followed by another boy, Eneko, in August 2022 and daughter Alaia in September 2024. It’s been quite the few days for Rahm, who reached an agreement to separate from LIV Golf, while forfeiting $7.5 million that the bankrupt league owed him. He has been welcomed back to the DP World Tour and is set to return from paternity leave and play in the Abu Dhabi Championship that begins on Nov. 5.
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You’ll find the usual suspects on the initial field list released Monday for Tiger Woods’ annual Hero World Challenge. Seven of the top 10 players on the World Ranking, including World No. 1 and two-time winner Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele, are set to compete in the 20-player field at Albany in The Bahamas, Dec. 3-6 (see full field here). Missing are Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark and Tommy Fleetwood. Also not listed: Tiger himself. Perhaps that’s no surprise, given he hasn’t competed in a tournament since the 2024 Open Championship. But recent video of him on the range at the TW Invitational at Monterey Peninsula C.C. suggests he’s making progress with his game. There remain three “tournament exemption” spots to be filled, perhaps one being held for Woods if he decides he’s ready to get back inside the ropes. A less intense return could come a week later at the PNC Championship, where he could play once again with his son Charlie in a two-day team event.
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