Golf is heading indoors, and this time, the women are getting their own stage. WTGL, the women’s version of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy‘s TGL, begins Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. The league will feature 25 LPGA stars competing for a share of an $11 million purse. With a rotating green and a shot clock adding pressure to every swing, it could bring a new kind of excitement to women’s golf.

The opening match will also mark Michelle Wie West‘s return to competitive golf. Playing for Los Angeles Golf Club, she has already set herself a simple target. “My goal is to be better than Kevin Kisner,” she joked, referring to the former TGL player who struggled with the simulator format while playing for Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links.

Wie West retired in 2023 after winning five LPGA titles, including the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst. But she is not returning as just another player. She is also an investor in Los Angeles Golf Club, giving her a personal stake in the team she will now represent.

So What Exactly Is WTGL?

WTGL was announced on January 6, 2026, by TMRW Sports, the company founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Mike McCarley, in partnership with the LPGA. It follows TGL, which started in January 2025. The league has five teams, each with five players, competing inside a custom-built arena called SoFi Center at Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Each match lasts around two hours, but only three players from each team take part. The format brings together indoor golf, technology and team competition.

Things moved quickly after the announcement. Atlanta businessman Arthur M. Blank became the first team owner, while Alex Morgan’s Trybe Ventures joined as the lead capital partner in January. Wie West’s return was announced in February. Six more LPGA stars, including Minjee Lee, joined in May, when WTGL also revealed its brand identity. New York Mets owner Steve Cohen came on board in June. ESPN and ION later secured media deals on September 2, giving the new league a major platform to reach golf fans.

Inside the Rules: 15 Holes, a Shot Clock and the Hammer

Each WTGL match has 15 holes and is played in two parts. The first nine holes are played by teams of three, with players taking turns to hit the ball. The final six holes are singles, where each player goes up against an opponent for two holes.

Each hole is worth one point. If both teams tie a hole, neither gets a point. The points do not carry over to the next hole, and all 15 holes must be played even if one team has already secured the win.

There is also a 40-second shot clock, so players cannot take too long over a shot. Breaking the limit costs the team a stroke. Teams can also use special ‘hammers’ to double the points at stake on a hole. However, the opposing team can refuse the challenge and give up the hole instead. Each team gets two timeouts per session, but unused timeouts cannot be saved for later.

If both teams finish with the same score, the match goes into overtime. Players then take part in a closest-to-the-pin contest over three rounds, hitting shots from 25 to 50 yards on the 15th hole. A regular win earns a team two points in the standings, while even a loss in overtime gives the team one point.

The five teams will face each other in a 10-match round-robin season. The top four will then move on to the playoffs, giving every match a chance to shape the race for a place in the final.

The Five Teams and Their Owners

WTGL has five teams, and each one has an ownership group that also owns a team in TGL.

• Atlanta Drive GC: Arthur M. Blank and AMB Sports and Entertainment.
• Boston Common Golf: Fenway Sports Group.
• Los Angeles Golf Club: Alexis Ohanian.
• Motor City Golf Club: Michael Hamp, Peter Hamp and Kevin Kelleher.
• New York Golf Club: Steve Cohen and Cohen Private Ventures.

Meet the 25 Players

Each team has five players, bringing 25 LPGA stars into the new league.

• Atlanta Drive GC: Nataliya Guseva, Charley Hull, Yuka Saso, Minjee Lee and Andrea Lee.
• Boston Common Golf: Lottie Woad, Megan Khang, Céline Boutier, Ina Yoon and Chizzy Iwai.
• Los Angeles Golf Club: Aki Iwai, Michelle Wie West, Kiara Romero, Alison Lee and Gaby López.
• Motor City Golf Club: Lexi Thompson, Jeeno Thitikul, Brooke Henderson, Ruoning Yin and Albane Valenzuela.
• New York Golf Club: Linn Grant, Danielle Kang, Lydia Ko, Yana Wilson and Rose Zhang.

There is plenty of experience in this group. Lydia Ko is one of the biggest names, with 23 LPGA Tour wins, three major titles and 125 weeks spent at No. 1 in the world rankings. Alison Lee and Linn Grant also arrive after impressive performances at the 2026 Solheim Cup. Both went unbeaten with 4-0-0 records as Europe defeated the United States 15-13.

Los Angeles Golf Club also has something to prove. The team enters WTGL as the reigning TGL champions, giving it a chance to carry that success into the women’s competition.

There are also two young players with interesting stories. Lottie Woad and Kiara Romero became the first two golfers to earn LPGA Tour cards through the Elite Amateur Pathway. Their inclusion gives WTGL a mix of established stars and young talent, making the competition even more interesting.

Opening Day: What to Expect

Los Angeles sends out Wie West, Alison Lee, and López against Zhang, Grant, and Ko for New York. Wie West and Zhang have the honors on the opening hole, Cut the Sails, and Zhang will hit the first tee shot in WTGL history.

Singles begins at Quick Draw, a par 5 with a new tee box that brings more risk to the right side of the canyon. Wie West faces Zhang there, and the same stretch includes the tight tee shots at The Last Toll and Stinger. Lee and Grant start at Bluebonnet, a par 4 that can be played drivable or long depending on the tee, then reach On the Rocks, the short par 3 where Tom Kim’s spinning tee shot once went in the hole. López and Ko close out at Caverns, a par 5 inside a cave.

Every team also has its own signature “team hole.” Los Angeles’s Showtime is a par 5 along the California coastline, and New York’s Big Apple is a long par 5 playing down toward the Hudson River and the skyline.

Rivalries to Watch

WTGL has also built several interesting matchups into its schedule, giving fans plenty of familiar rivalries to follow. On November 10, Lexi Thompson and Michelle Wie West will face each other after being Solheim Cup teammates three times. Both also won major titles in 2014. On November 16, Jeeno Thitikul and Lottie Woad will go head-to-head, with both players ranking among the LPGA’s top five in greens hit.

November 29 will bring two more interesting battles. Megan Khang will represent Boston against New York, adding a hometown angle to the matchup. Meanwhile, Lottie Woad and Rose Zhang share a special achievement, as both won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and an LPGA event during their professional debuts. The same day, Ruoning Yin will face Yuka Saso after beating her by one stroke at the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

There are more familiar names to watch in December. On December 1, Brooke Henderson will meet Lydia Ko, whom she beat in a playoff at the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. On December 6, Minjee Lee will face Alison Lee, whom she defeated 1 up in the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior final. The schedule also brings Lydia Ko and Charley Hull together on December 8, recalling the 2016 Chevron Championship, where Ko won with Hull finishing just one stroke behind.

The $11 Million Question

The first WTGL season will have an $11 million purse. A league spokesperson said the amount “aligns with the major championships in women’s golf.” However, it is still around half of the $21 million TGL paid out in each of its first two seasons.

The gap is similar to what we see in major championships. In 2026, the five women’s majors had an average purse of $10.72 million, while the four men’s majors averaged $20.81 million. WTGL has not yet shared how the $11 million will be divided among the players.

Who’s Backing It

The league’s lead capital partner is Trybe Ventures, co-founded by Morgan. Its investors include Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Aryna Sabalenka, Hilary Knight, Diana Taurasi, Napheesa Collier, Nneka Ogwumike and Breanna Stewart.

On the commercial side, Topgolf signed a multi-year deal on November 2. Fans can play WTGL holes at its venues for a chance at a $500 gift card for official WTGL merchandise, in a sweepstakes running from Nov. 8 to Dec. 23. The deal also brings watch parties and fan experiences.

How to Watch WTGL 2026

WTGL has secured multi-year broadcasting deals with ESPN and Scripps-owned ION in the United States. The opening match will be part of ESPN’s Women’s Sports Sundays. Fans can stream matches shown on ESPN networks through the ESPN App, while ION broadcasts will also be available on YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Frndly and Peacock. Viewers in the UK can watch every match live on Sky Sports.

The regular season begins on November 8, when Los Angeles Golf Club faces New York Golf Club at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN. Motor City Golf Club then takes on Los Angeles on November 10 at 8 p.m. on ION. Boston Common Golf meets Motor City on November 16, followed by Atlanta Drive GC against Boston on November 24. Both matches begin at 8 p.m. on ION.

November 29 brings a doubleheader on ABC. Boston faces New York at 1 p.m., followed by Motor City against Atlanta at 3:30 p.m. The remaining regular-season matches will see New York play Motor City on December 1 at 8 p.m. on ION, Atlanta face Los Angeles on December 6 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2, and New York take on Atlanta on December 8 at 8 p.m. on ION. Los Angeles will close its regular-season schedule against Boston on December 15 at 8 p.m. on ION.

The top four teams will then move into the playoffs. The semifinals are scheduled for December 20 on ESPN2, with the start time still to be announced, and December 21 at 8 p.m. on ION. The best-of-three Finals will begin on December 22 at 8 p.m. on ESPN2, followed by the second match on December 23 at 7 p.m. If a third match is needed to decide the champion, it will take place that night at 9 p.m., also on ESPN2.

Going Live at SoFi Center

SoFi Center seats about 1,500 fans close enough to watch the green rotate between holes. Tickets are available through WTGLgolf.com/tickets and Ticketmaster, with membership plans, hospitality packages, youth tickets, VIP pre-match experiences and upgraded parking on offer.

Two more holes are worth knowing. The par-3 third, Craic On, has a new tee box that forces players to thread a castle-wall window just 22 feet wide at its widest. The par-3 seventh, SOS, is a new hole designed by Annika Sörenstam, set beside a Swedish warship.

WTGL has the stars, a purse that matches the majors and a national broadcast footprint. What it still has to prove is whether fans will turn up for a Tuesday night on ION. If the first match feels as good as the lineup reads, golf may have found its newest winter habit.