
Imago
Credits: IMAGO

Imago
Credits: IMAGO
Essentials Inside The Story
- Robert Castro's Addition
- What Castro will bring to the table
- The ESPN Crew
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy‘s TGL has made many changes for Season 2 to improve the fan experience. While most upgrades focus on the technical side, TGL is planning a key upgrade to the broadcast team as well. Former PGA Tour professional Roberto Castro will join the core team as TGL Season 2 begins on December 28, 2025, at SoFi Center.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Top Stories
LIV Golf Braces for Another Possible Exit in Wake of Brooks Koepka Departure

Rory McIlroy Makes Feelings Clear on Bryson DeChambeau’s PGA Tour Return: ‘Have Lost…’

Amanda Balionis Confirms New Relationship Ending Months of Rumors

Bryson DeChambeau Gives Reality Check to Phil Mickelson When Asked to Select His Mount Rushmore for Golf

After Brooks Koepka, Another Pro Cuts All Ties With LIV Golf & Publicly Backs PGA Tour

Roberto Castro’s addition to the TGL Season 2 broadcast team
Roberto Castro is a former PGA Tour pro with first-hand experience of what goes on during a game. He played collegiate golf at Georgia Tech and won multiple All-American honors. Castro turned pro in 2007 and got a PGA Tour card in 2011. Over the years, he has amassed two runner-up finishes at the Players Championship 2013 and the Wells Fargo Championship 2016.
ADVERTISEMENT
As someone who has experienced being on the road and playing on golf courses, he can offer key insights. This can prove extremely beneficial, as already seen with Smylie Kaufman, who took retirement and started the Smylie Show. TGL Season 2 is adding new broadcast elements, including virtual shot comparisons, advanced shot tracing, and augmented reality graphics. Roberto Castro will handle explaining the Hammer scoring and other such complex concepts to viewers in simpler terms.
The former PGA Tour pro will join three other members of the broadcast team from the previous season: Scott Van Pelt, Matt Barrie, and Marty Smith.
ADVERTISEMENT
The ESPN trio on the TGL Season 2 broadcast team
Scott Van Pelt is a veteran broadcaster who started his career in 1995. He began broadcasting at WTTG-TV and the Golf Channel before joining ESPN in 2001 as lead golf reporter. Van Pelt has broadcast multiple significant events, including the Masters and the PGA Championship. He used to anchor SportsCenter with analysts Curtis Strange and Michael Eaves.

USA Today via Reuters
Nov 13, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; ESPN announcer Scott Van Pelt prior to the game between the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Another veteran on the TGL Season 2 broadcasting team is Matt Barrie. He is an Emmy-winning announcer with 14+ years at ESPN. And it’s not just Emmy, though. Barrie has also won several Murrows. The American sports broadcaster has been with ESPN for over 14 years now. Barrie’s wide experience makes him an ideal candidate for TGL’s broadcasting team. In fact, his Season 1 commentary has even garnered praise from many fans.
ADVERTISEMENT
In a conversation with Sports Illustrated, Barrie revealed that a fan thanked him for his commentary at TGL when he was taking a stroll at the Augusta during the Masters in 2025.
“My daughters hated golf. My daughters wanted nothing to do with it, and now, because of TGL,” Matt Barrie said, revealing the response the fan gave when asked why he was thanking him.
ADVERTISEMENT
Marty Smith, the third member of the TGL Season 1 broadcast team, who will continue in TGL Season 2, joined ESPN in 2006. Before that, he worked as a writer at NASCAR. He later transitioned into media roles, working as an analyst and host for the former SPEED Channel and serving as a NASCAR analyst on Fox Sports Net. He has been broadcasting the Masters and the PGA Championship since 2017. Smith also started his own show, Marty Smith’s America, in 2017, where he interviewed many celebrity athletes, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Rory McIlroy, and others.
With Roberto Castro joining an already experienced ESPN lineup, the TGL Season 2 broadcast team gains a deeper perspective on strategy, format, and in-game decision-making. The broadcasters will aid the enhanced visuals upgraded for Season 2. This will make every match clearer, sharper, and more engaging for fans.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

