Tiger Woods was on the wrong side of history during Monday night’s TGL match.
With Jupiter Links and Boston Common tied 1-1 on the 10th hole, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were squaring off on the first singles hole. McIlroy made birdie, and Woods was standing over an 8-footer to tie.
Then … “beep!”
The 15-time major champion received the first shot clock violation in TGL history.
Woods, who missed the putt anyway, was handed a one-stroke penalty, which awarded the point to McIlroy and gave Boston Common a 2-1 lead over Woods’s Jupiter Links GC squad.
In the end, Jupiter overcame Woods’s gaffe and pulled out a 4-3 victory. Woods, however, knows he could have avoided the blunder—and took accountability.
“Normally I slow my heart rate down before I pull the trigger,” the 49-year-old said afterward, “so dropping my heart rate down sometimes takes a little bit longer than others. As I told these guys, it’s on me. I should have called time out as I built in my stance because of the time. But I was dropping my heart rate down like I normally would. It just took too long.”
Tiger Woods was given a shot clock violation and as a result, Jupiter Links GC lost the hole. pic.twitter.com/dFZv2qGV0D
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 28, 2025
And arguably the greatest player ever receiving the TGL’s first shot-clock violation made an impression on his competitors.
“It’s a slight adjustment,” Boston Common’s Adam Scott said. “Tiger got a time violation out there, so you’ve got to be careful.”
The pace of play on the PGA Tour is a hot topic. The final round of last week’s Farmers Insurance Invitational took over five hours to complete—even bringing criticism from CBS’s on-course reporter Dottie Pepper.
Some Tour stars, such as Rickie Fowler, are in favor of implementing a shock clock on Tour. Others, like Justin Thomas, aren’t sure it would translate.
After Monday’s match, Scott admitted he’s a fan of the timer—for TGL.
“I think for this format, it's definitely creating a good tempo,” the 2013 Masters champion said. “I think it’s about right, actually, after playing it, that you’ve got just enough time but you can’t mess around much or you’re going to be stressing getting over the shot and could lead to an error. I think it's really good.”
The shot clock, however, isn’t the only way to speed up TGL matches. Jupiter’s victory was decided in the league’s first-ever overtime, which is a best-of-three, closest-to-the-pin playoff. As a result, the two-hour telecast on ESPN cut into the first few minutes of N.C. State-Duke college basketball.
“Don't forget, this is a TV show,” Woods said of the overtime format, “so we needed to have a quick ending. We needed to do it within the two-hour broadcast window. It doesn't make any sense to go back out and play extra holes. It just takes too long. Just make it like a penalty kick scenario.”
That likely won’t ever come to fruition on the PGA Tour, but a shot clock might someday. And if it does, nobody will want to be its first victim—just like Woods was Monday night in the Sofi Center.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as In Overtime Win, Tiger Woods Nailed With TGL’s First Shot Clock Violation .