January has been a wild ride for the golfing world! We’ve seen some massive news drops this time. Be it TGL’s skyrocketing debut viewership or the PGA Tour’s drastic fall. And not to mention LIV Golf’s major shakeup when former Eugenio Chacarra called out the organization for being dishonest. But things have just gotten started as two new big news have hit the greens again!

According to fresh reports, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TGL gained 4M new viewers during its second match. That’s 25% above its first-round numbers, where TGL gained over 3 million views. We have to admit, this was a bit of a surprise.

After the tech-infused league received first-round viewership numbers, many warned Woods and McIlroy not to celebrate too soon. Fans were even speculating about a drastic downfall in viewership. But, as it turns out, TGL’s second match was a real showstopper! The world saw Tiger Woods’s team, Jupiter Links get thrashed by the much younger Los Angeles Golf Club. But Woods isn’t likely to be too disappointed. He has gotten his one wish, the one he made a couple of years ago.

Remember when Woods famously said, “Greg has to go?” The 15x major winner questioned LIV’s leadership back then, and said that for everyone to talk freely, the Australian should be out of the picture. Well, it looks like he’s finally gotten his wish. The speculations of CEO Greg Norman’s potential replacement have finally come true. Scott O’Neil has taken the reins as the new CEO of LIV Golf, replacing Norman, who’s been at the helm since its inception.

Interestingly, Woods had been vocal about Norman stepping down to end the “animosity” between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. Woods suggested that Norman was seeking to “destroy” the PGA Tour, echoing Rory McIlroy‘s sentiments.

“Greg (Norman) needs to go. He needs to exit stage left. He’s made his mark but I think now is the right time to say you’ve got this thing off the ground but no one’s going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences,” said McIlroy a few years ago.

Fans react as TGL reveals new number just as Norman leaves his chair

“Tiger’s the GOAT! Of course, the world is gonna tune in!,” one fan commented, referring to how the world had waited to see Woods in action. In 2024, he played in majors, Genesis, and the PNC Championship, which was clearly not enough for his fans!

Another fan humorously compared the two, commenting, “Simulator golf is getting more views than LIV 😂.” This is certainly true, considering that LIV Golf has been trying to modernize traditional golf since day one. However, their “Golf, But Louder” motto faced significant criticism during its debut and never achieved the same level of viewership as TGL. A similar sentiment was shared by another user who said, “LIV hasn’t achieved these viewership numbers in its entire history.”

One user even stated, “LIV is absolutely dead in the water.” Chacarra leaving the league and then claiming lies about majors and the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) promise is one of many hints that fans can associate with LIV not delivering what it promised.

Interestingly, not all comments about TGL were positive. One Instagram user criticized the event, saying it had a “terrible match.” They expressed, “It seemed like the players didn’t care about losing. Does anyone even know how many games you can lose and still have a chance to win? 🤷‍♂️ What’s at stake, other than an LED-lit trophy? 🏆 And who has looked into how much these players are getting paid? Is it LIV-style? It’s all relevant.”

What do you think? Did the Saudi-backed league make the right decision or was Tiger Woods right when he said “Greg needed to go”? Let us know below!