TGL’s rookie signings send promising signal for league’s future | News

The biggest question surrounding TGL’s 2027 season is the same question that has dominated the last three decades of professional golf: What will Tiger Woods do?

But regardless of Woods’ presence — whether he shows up as captain, player or some combination of the two — the league’s most promising trend comes in the players it signed in the offseason.

A couple pros bowed out ahead of the third season (more on that in a minute) but the league added a seventh team and officially expanded rosters to five pros per team. The big signal here is that TGL has buy-in from many of the biggest names on Tour; let’s run through who’s new. But first…

WHO’S OUT

Let’s start with the departed players: Xander Schauffele seems to be spending more time on the West Coast, away from the friendly confines of the SoFi Center. That’s a loss for the league; TGL benefitted greatly from Schauffele’s sense of mischief, as did the rest of the relatively reserved roster (Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler) at New York Golf Club.

Adam Scott lives a long way from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and it was already tough to make the logistics work in seasons 1 and 2; it’s no shock to see him bow out ahead of season 3.

And Kevin Kisner and Lucas Glover weren’t renewed by their respective teams; thus far we’ve only heard from Kisner on the subject. He said his two-year contract had expired — and teased out Woods’ playing plans:

The young stars

Chris Gotterup (Atlanta Drive)
Alex Fitzpatrick (New York GC)
Jackson Koivun (Motor City)
Michael Brennan (Atlanta Drive)
Michael Thorbjornsen (Boston Common)
Blades Brown (The Bay)
Ben James (LAGC)

There was a three-week stretch at the end of the PGA Tour’s regular season where three consecutive tournaments were won by Americans 25 years old and younger. That was Jackson Koivun at the 3M Open, Michael Thorbjornsen at the Rocket Classic and Michael Brennan at the Wyndham Championship.

Now they’re all on TGL.

The reigning No. 1 in PGA Tour University has gotten his pro career off to a red-hot start, including three top-five finishes in his last four events; now Ben James is on TGL, too.

The most dramatic PGA Tour rookie story belongs to Alex Fitzpatrick, who earned his card alongside his brother Matt at the Zurich Classic; now he’s a TGL rookie, too, and will play alongside Matt for New York.

The best teenager in the world just became the youngest pro to earn a PGA Tour card via the Korn Ferry Tour; now Blades Brown will play TGL, too.

And nobody won more than three times on the PGA Tour in 2026, which means Chris Gotterup (World No. 6 and winner of the Sony Open, WM Phoenix Open and John Deere Classic) was a no-brainer for Atlanta to lock in.

I’m not saying you have to love TGL. I’m not saying you have to watch TGL. I’m just saying that the signing of these pros signals something important for the league’s future: that on winter weeknights in 2027, in the golf world, the SoFi Center is still the place to be. The Tour’s young stars see enough benefit that they’re signing up. The league is still in prove-it mode heading to its third season, but its offseason guarantees this won’t just be a Tiger Woods show.

The rosters are plenty deep behind him.

The league kicks off its season Dec. 27, while the WTGL debuts in November. Complete rosters are below.

Atlanta Drive

Players: Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel, Patrick Cantlay, Chris Gotterup, Michael Brennan

The Bay Golf Club

Players: Wyndham Clark, Min Woo Lee, Ludvig Aberg, Blades Brown and Ryan Fox

Boston Common Golf

Players: Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama, Michael Thorbjornsen

Jupiter Links Golf Club

Players: Tiger Woods, Tom Kim, Max Homa, Akshay Bhatia, Keith Mitchell