New York vs The Bay: Pro golf begins new era as TGL tees off for inaugural season

Everything you need to know about TGL’s debut match between New York and The Bay Golf Club.

After a deflating first attempt to kick off 12 months ago, the tech-infused SoFi Center is finally plugged in and ready for lights, cameras, and action. Matchday 1 of golf’s eagerly anticipated foray into the digital unknown features New York GG take on The Bay GC, with six of golf’s biggest stars going head-to-head in the 15-hole clash.

Despite their respective teams not teeing it up for the Tuesday debut, co-founders Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods will be watching on nervously in the hope of a smooth launch in front of a live prime-time TV audience and 1,500 expecting fans circling one of the world’s biggest simulator screens.

Three players from each team’s four-man roster will tee it up for the two-hour battle consisting of nine holes of triples, a three-man alternate shots format. This will be followed by six holes of one-on-one matchplay, where each player will rotate and play two holes each.

Which players have been selected for New York vs The Bay?

World No.2 and two-time major winner Xander Schauffele will lead out the New York trio alongside Matt Fitzpatrick and Rickie Fowler. Cameron Young sits this one out. The Bay has selected Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry, and Wyndham Clark to get their season off and running, with Min Woo Lee benched for the opening fixture.

New York and The Bay are the two youngest teams in the league with average ages of 31.0 and 29.8 respectively. The Bay enters the match as the longest TGL team off-the-tee based on 2024 PGA Tour statistics, whereas New York boasts the best numbers on the green, topping the putting stats last year.

None of the six players involved in Tuesday’s match are named in the field for the Sony Open on the PGA Tour which begins 4,500 miles away on Thursday in Hawaii.

What holes will be played for New York vs The Bay?

Each TGL fixture features 15 virtual holes from a bank of 30 custom-designed holes specially created by Beau Welling Design, Nicklaus Design, and Pizá Golf, in collaboration with TGL and Full Swing. An exciting element of TGL is the removal of real-world barriers to golf course design, typically restricted by budgets, environmental issues, planning permissions, and availability of land.

Shane Lowry and The Bay Golf Club will have the honor of hitting the first tee shot in TGL history on ‘The Plank’, a 377-yard, par 4. Players and fans will experience a variety of authentic settings, including links, canyons, coastal, desert, and tropical landscapes.

How are points awarded in TGL?

Similar to professional hockey, TGL will use a points-based system for regular season matches. One point is awarded for winning a hole, but there are no carryovers, and a tie is worth zero points.

Each team also has the option of using ‘the hammer’, which increases the value of a hole by one point when active. Possession of ‘the hammer’ changes each time it’s used, so there’s strategy involved in pressing home an advantage or putting an opponent under pressure.

A team win is worth two points, while an overtime loss still receives one point – a similar system to the NHL. A ‘regulation’ defeat earns zero points.

In the event of a tie at the end of the 15-week season, the tiebreaker will be decided by total holes won. That’s why all 15 holes will be played in every match, even if the winner is decided earlier.

• Find out more about TGL’s unique rules and format here.

How to watch New York vs The Bay

US audiences can tune in to TGL on ESPN and ESPN+ from 21.00 ET on Tuesday, January 07.

UK viewers can watch the action unfold on Sky Sports from 02.00 on Wednesday, January 08.

TGL matches are scheduled to last two hours.

New York vs The Bay: Who will win?

Bookmakers are understandably cautious about how ‘real-world’ results may translate to performance in the sim world. Therefore it’s not surprising to see the match priced evenly with New York going in slight favourites at around 4/5.

Here are the current odds for the inaugural season winners (correct 06 Jan):

Los Angeles 7/2

Boston Common 4/1

New York 4/1

Atlanta Drive 9/2

The Bay 5/1

Jupiter Links 8/1

About the author

Ross Tugwood – Senior Digital Writer

Ross Tugwood is a Senior Digital Writer for todays-golfer.com, specializing in data, analytics, science, and innovation.

Ross is passionate about optimizing sports performance and has a decade of experience working with professional athletes and coaches for British Athletics, the UK Sports Institute, and Team GB.

He is an NCTJ-accredited journalist with post-graduate degrees in Performance Analysis and Sports Journalism, enabling him to critically analyze and review the latest golf equipment and technology to help you make better-informed buying decisions.