Tiger Woods‘ absence is proving to be detrimental for TGL’s second season. The fans seem to be less interested in watching the matches, given that the Big Cat is sidelined. While the second season of the league is still getting a lot of views, the numbers have dropped considerably from what they were at this time in 2025.

As Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal revealed, “Viewership for @TGL’s Match 4 on Tuesday between Jupiter-New York: 793K viewers on ESPN (Big Data + Panel). 7pm start. That’s down from 864K for last year’s Week 4 (also a 7pm ESPN start, Panel only). The same window in 2025 drew 1.005M on ESPN for Tiger’s debut. Tuesday peaked at 829K. While down from last year, the 793K figure is TGL’s highest number of the season.”

The $500 million-worth indoor tech league saw a decline of 71,000 viewers for Match 4 of the season. Interestingly, Woods’ team was in action as they lost to the New York Golf Club by a 3-8 margin. Woods’ replacement, Akshay Bhatia, was on the field, making his debut. However, the fans weren’t as interested in watching him, Max Homa, and Kevin Kisner.

Interestingly, the data was solely collected from ESPN. The league was already facing a lot of backlash after the network decided to remove it from ESPN+. Instead, they started showcasing the matches on their DTC app. This forced fans to purchase the ESPN Unlimited packages to watch events. That had already put TGL in a bad light.

This is not the first time the issue has come to light this season. The TV ratings after Match 3 also reflected a drop in the viewership, leading many to assume that Woods’ absence is the primary cause of the same.

But all that might change if the 15-time major winner makes a comeback. That said, will he be returning to SoFi Center for the second season of TGL?

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TGL viewership may get a boost as Tiger Woods shares a positive update

Not having Tiger Woods at the SoFi Center is certainly hurting the viewership of TGL. But it’s not just the fans who are affected by his absence. His peers are also missing his presence in the indoor arena.

So when Woods dropped by to cheer them on, it made Rickie Fowler emotional.

He said, “We’re good buddies. It’s been fun to get to know Tiger more and more, definitely over the last 15 years. Yeah, he’s a good friend, and to have him here hopefully helped us maybe boost some ratings that weren’t going to come from us just playing. That helps us, him showing up. I thought that was cool for him to be out and be a part of it. It’s just different when he’s around.”

Just having him presence in the stands had such a positive impact on Fowler. As such, he must have been even more pleased to learn about Woods’ recovery progress.

The Big Cat stated, “I’m moving up to short irons, so that’s about it. I need a little bit more than that to be able to play here. At my speed right now, I could probably play the Stinger hole. Just kind of roll it off the tee. But no, I’m progressing, which is nice. I’m getting there and getting stronger.”

While Woods has certainly progressed quite a lot since his surgery, there is still a long way to go before he can pick up the driver. However, considering the speed of his recovery, he should be able to play at least one, if not more, TGL matches this season.