On Sunday at SoFi Center, the young girls in the crowd were part of the WTGL debut I kept watching. The golf was compelling, and the production gave everyone plenty to react to, but those girls gave the day a different meaning. They had elite women golfers right in front of them, teammates to pull for and permission to get loud about what they were seeing. As a long-time PGA Professional and a caretaker of the game, I appreciated what I witnessed on Sunday at SoFi.
Los Angeles Golf Club defeated New York Golf Club 3-1 in the league’s opening match. Michelle Wie West, Alison Lee and Gaby López beat a team featuring Rose Zhang, Linn Grant and Lydia Ko. That result belongs in the record book. What I carried away from Palm Beach Gardens, though, was the possibility that some of the young fans in the room might want to watch those women play again, somewhere other than SoFi Center.
At the time this article is being published Tuesday evening, WTGL is nearing its second match. Los Angeles returns to SoFi Center to face Motor City Golf Club at 8 p.m. Eastern on ION. Michelle Wie West is back for Los Angeles, while Lexi Thompson is set to make her WTGL debut for Motor City. It is another chance for viewers who were introduced to the league Sunday to follow a team, recognize its players and begin building the kind of attachment that lasts beyond one afternoon.
Women’s golf has an immediate chance to test that possibility. The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican comes to Belleair, Florida, this week with world No. 1 Nelly Korda chasing a victory that would carry extraordinary historical significance. According to the LPGA, Korda needs one more LPGA Hall of Fame point after earning the 2026 Player of the Year honor. A win at Pelican Golf Club would supply it.
From a league debut to its second match, then back to the LPGA’s traditional tournament stage.
Sunday’s Noise Has to Lead Somewhere
I have spent decades trying to help young golfers connect with the game, and I know that their first point of interest does not always look like the one adults expect. Some fall in love with hitting a ball. Others want to be with friends, cheer for somebody or feel part of an event that is bigger than their own scorecard. That is why I hesitate when people dismiss a hybrid format because it does not resemble a conventional tournament.
WTGL did not ask the audience to understand every subtlety of a four-round stroke-play event before enjoying what was happening. There were teams, visible match points, player personalities and a distinct sense of occasion. New York’s Rose Zhang struck the first tee shot in league history, and the match offered enough recognizable moments for fans to begin choosing favorites.
Photo Credit: TMRW Sports
But an exciting debut does not establish a durable new audience. The difficult work begins afterward. Will the viewers who enjoyed Michelle Wie West or Lydia Ko on Sunday watch the LPGA next week? Will families who attended SoFi seek out live competition at Pelican? Will somebody who had never followed women’s professional golf learn the names of the players beyond a single televised appearance?
Those are questions for the entire ecosystem, not simply a new league’s marketing department.
Nelly Korda Has a Remarkable Story Waiting at Pelican
The ANNIKA offers something a technology-driven team format cannot manufacture: the long, demanding arc of an individual golfer’s career reaching a potentially historic point. Korda is already a three-time winner at this tournament. The LPGA says a fourth victory would make her the first player to win the same LPGA event at least four times in seven appearances. She would also be the first player to win an LPGA tournament four times since Annika Sörenstam did so in 2005.
There is enough in that story to interest a casual viewer without making the mistake of treating Hall of Fame qualification as an inevitable celebration. Korda must win. The rest of the field has its own reasons to compete, and it includes major champions, Solheim Cup players and established tournament winners. A great storyline is an invitation to watch the golf; it is not a substitute for the competition itself.
I also find the connection with Sörenstam especially interesting. She designed a hole that debuted in WTGL’s opening match, and now the traditional LPGA tournament bearing her name arrives within days. That is a valuable bridge between two forms of presenting the same sport. People do not need to choose which one counts as real golf.
Growing the Audience Requires More Than a Good First Impression
For me, the argument in favor of WTGL has always been about the entry point. Professional golf can be difficult for a new fan to follow. There are dozens of players, overlapping tours, shifting schedules and four days of competition to track. Team formats offer an introduction with recognizable colors, shorter viewing windows and obvious stakes.
The LPGA offers the depth that follows the introduction. It provides player histories, season-long rivalries, major championships and the daily test of managing an actual golf course. The best opportunity is for the two products to send viewers toward each other. That will require deliberate cooperation, accessible storytelling and consistent visibility long after the novelty of an opening match has faded.
Back at SoFi, I was encouraged by the young fans, but I would be overstating what I witnessed if I claimed one afternoon proved a new era had arrived. I saw a promising beginning. Tonight’s Los Angeles-Motor City match offers a quick opportunity to build on it, and The ANNIKA gives viewers another destination later this week. I hope the young girls who were cheering Sunday find reasons to keep watching.
PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on RG.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.
