Ready for the spotlight?: The WTGL provides women's golf a chance to reach a new audience
The first time Gaby Lopez met Michelle Wie West was 10 years ago at the ANA Inspiration. And let’s just say it was, well, awkward.
Lopez was a 22-year-old LPGA rookie playing in a pairing with the most recognizable player in women’s golf. Following in the gallery was Lopez’s mom, Gabriela Burton, who was so proud of her daughter playing in the major—now known as the Chevron Championship—that she cheered loudly and used a hand-clapper in the gallery.
At one point, Wie West approached Lopez to ask a favor: Could her mom stop using the noisemaker? Lopez happily complied.
“I'm a rookie and she's an all-time star on the LPGA, so we started with the wrong foot there,” Lopez recalled. “I was like, ‘Mom, you’ve got to quit. And then she did.’ She was distracting me from actually playing and competing and it was a major.”
Lopez can laugh about it now, and she and Wie West are friends. It’s still a faux pau to bring clappers to a regular golf tournament, but not the new golf event that Lopez and Wie West are helping launch.
The WTGL, a partnership between the LPGA and TMRW Sports, begins its inaugural season on Sunday, the opening match pitting the Los Angeles Golf Club against the New York Golf Golf at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN. The goal, of course is to following the footsteps of the two-year-old TGL in trying to attract new golf fans and younger fans.
Wie West and Lopez are teammates on the L.A. squad, playing along side Alison Lee. Their opponents for New York include a lineup of Lydia Ko, Rose Zhang and Linn Grant. Zhang is set to hit the first shot in league history. Aki Iwai—who is playing in the Toto Japan Classic this week—and Kiara Romero round out the LAGC team and will play in other matches that run through December.
All WTGL matches will be held in SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., an arena with a capacity for roughly 2,000 fans. Lopez’s mom will be one of those fans, and maybe she’ll have that clapper with her. Again, for this kind of golf, it would be welcomed.
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For Year 1, the WGTL will have five teams—LAGC, NYGC, Atlanta Drive, Boston Common and Motor City—each with five players. Three golfers play for a team during a match, the format mirroring the TGL in having team alternate shot and individual head-to-head matches over the course of 15 holes. Also mirroring the TGL is the atmosphere in the arena, where bright lights and walk-up music will be omnipresent while players are mic’d up and encouraged to bring the noise themselves.
Being mic’d up during play is surprisingly a first for Wie West, who is coming out of competitive retirement to play in the WTGL. She’s looking forward to the return, particularly the fact that her husband, Jonnie, and their two children will be in attendance. Her daughter, 6-year-old Makenna, is already a fan of the league.
“She’s so excited. I took her to a TGL match last season. and she didn't want to leave,” said Wie West, who is a part-owner of the TGL’s LAGC. “I had to take her home a little bit earlier, but she was obsessed. I took her out on the field, and they’re warming up, and she was in awe of all of it. I think that’s a really fun experience for in-person and also on TV.
“We always keep it on at the house. But in person, there’s music playing and it’s so different from a normal golf tournament. For kids, it could not be a super fun experience for them because they have to stay still and they have to be quiet. Here, they’re encouraged to dance along, sing along, yell.”
Four of the top 10 women in the world are on rosters, with World No. 1 Nelly Korda being the most notable pro not in the WTGL. Korda hoped the WTGL would join forces with the TGL—started by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy—and be a mixed-team format with male and female golfers. That’s not the case, at least for now.
“I have mixed feelings on it if I’m being very honest,” Korda told Golfweek earlier this year. “I’m surprised no other girls have, or no one’s really spoken out about it. I think it’s a huge and unbelievable miss that we’re not playing alongside the men. There’s no greater way to grow the game, and it would have been revolutionary. It would have been the first time, I think, that men and women are on the same playing field, playing for the same exact amount of money. But I also think it’s great that we are getting this opportunity, so that’s my mixed feelings.”
Wie West is all in for mixed-team events, too. “I hope so,” Wie West said. “I’ve been pushing for that since the beginning. So we'll see.”
Players have some fun on the putting green inside the SoFi Center during WTGL media day.
The 37-year-old Wie West and others participated in a media day in September, but there are some league golfers who haven’t tried hitting in the venue yet. LAGC owner and lead investor Alexis Ohanian went to dinner with his team the night of media day for some roster bonding and Wagyu and foie gras among other delicious food.
The indoor setup is different, but Wie West thinks it will be interesting for both golfers and fans.
“I was probably one of the very few players to even be in the arena. It was really exciting,” Wie West said. “As an investor, it’s really exciting to see the players come in and be in awe of the actual technology that’s in the arena. I think the screen itself, it’s something that you can’t explain verbally. You just have to be able to see it.
“I think the one thing that we all kind of came across afterwards was just how fun it was. We had a blast just playing against each other. Just hitting balls into the simulator. It just was so different than what we do on a daily basis. I have a different, unique perspective as well because I’m not playing competitive golf.”
Wie West and others have said the lighting is a little tricky to get used to, and she’s not sure if she’ll wear her glasses, which correct for astigmatism, or not. Players will play the same designed holes as the men in TGL, but there will be some differences, like the tee boxes. The statistical comparisons should be cool, too.
Players are excited to see what the atmosphere will be like when the first matches are held this fall.
And the microphones will always be hot. Wie West wonders how and what it will be like to talk trash with opponents, since most players are nice and friendly. Lopez is ready for it.
“As soon as I have an opportunity, I’m going to trash talk the other team,” Lopez said. “I have no filter. I’m happy to do it. We’ve known them for a long time, so I’m sure they’ll be fine, and I’m expecting them to trash talk to us as well. We know that this is a different environment. I’m really hoping they do it because we’re going to do it.”
And maybe her mom will join in with that clapper.