Tiger Woods underwent back surgery in October for disc pain and will most likely remain sidelined from most of the matches in the TGL’s second act. But in Woods’ absence, a video clip posted by one popular golf account, NUCLR GOLF, sent every golf fan into a frenzy. The footage showed Scottie Scheffler hitting balls inside the high-tech SoFi Center. Fans immediately thought that Scheffler would captain a new Texas-based team. But the excitement lasted less than a week before the Masters champion shared some very sad news on the Wake Up Barstool podcast with host T-Bob Hebert.

“It’s probably still not a very good chance… I mean, that was my first time in the SoFi Center last night… But, you know, throughout the season, it’s such a grind for us to be able to play as many tournaments as we do in the amount of time,” Scheffler said. “And with a young family at home, it’s not really the timing for me right now to be flying to Florida on my weeks off to play indoor golf.”

Though the superstar never elaborated on his absence last year, he likely missed Season 1 of TGL for very similar reasons. Scheffler knows that playing 20 events with 17 top-ten finishes and becoming the first player since Woods in 2000 to lead the tour in every round is a massive mental and physical grind. As such, he prefers to be beside his wife, Meredith, and his young son Bennett instead of competing in the TGL. Little Bennett was born on May 8, 2024, and is now a very active 19-month-old toddler.

Still, many fans thought Scheffler would change his mind because the 2026 schedule looks different from the past. The PGA Tour is currently changing its schedule to avoid any big clashes with the NFL, and canceled The Sentry at Kapalua for 2026. So they thought this shift would have cleared the whole month of January for the superstar to play indoor golf.

Notably, Reports from Sports Business Journal reporter Josh Carpenter also showed that the league filed new trademarks that included names like Texas Golf Club and Chicago Links Golf Club back in May 2025. That’s why many believed the infrastructure was ready for the superstar to finally say yes to the league. But Scheffler finally confirmed that the timing is still not right.

Though the World No. 1 is currently sidelined, the virtual arena is ready to introduce a new star.

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The Virtual Stage Still Shines with New Blood

The show will go on even without Scottie Scheffler as Rory McIlroy announced that Michael Thorbjornsen is joining the Boston Common Golf team for TGL’s second season. Thorbjornsen will help the team that already featured teammates like Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, and his Ryder Cup rival Keegan Bradley. The former Stanford student will not replace anyone; instead, he will be on the Boston roster and fill in when teammates like Matsuyama or Scott are playing across the globe.

And even without the Dallas Native, the league still has plenty of massive stars to keep the party going. Fans can watch the ‘Big Cat’ Tiger Woods lead his Jupiter Links team from the sidelines while he recovers. The Swedish sensation Ludvig Åberg will bring his effortless power to The Bay Golf Club during the season. Meanwhile, Young Tom Kim will likely bring plenty of fun trash talk to the show’s second act as well.

Season 2 will officially begin on Sunday, December 28, 2025, on the ABC network, where the defending champions, Atlanta Drive GC, will face off against the New York Golf Club in the opener. Fans will see Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay fight to keep their title against Xander Schauffele’s squad.

Notably, the league worked extremely hard during the break to make the stadium experience even better for the fans. They completely rebuilt the ‘GreenZone’ short-game area to be much larger, and the putting surface now covers over five thousand square feet. It features twelve different hole locations instead of seven to make every single chip shot feel fresh. They also made the sand bunkers much larger to make it more challenging. And last but not least, the fans in the stands will receive special earbuds to hear every secret joke between the players. This is a massive upgrade from last season’s version, and it’s designed to make the viewers feel like they are part of the game.