Los Angeles Golf Club dominant in first match victory against Jupiter Links

The lights dimmed and a red hue washed over SoFi Center as a familiar silhouette filled the entrance leading out to the field of play. As smoke poured out and the opening riff of “Eye of the Tiger” blared over the speakers, Tiger Woods entered the arena.

“You ready for this?” Woods shouted. The crowd roared and that set the tone for the second match of TGL presented by SoFi.

With all eyes on Woods from the start, it was Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala who rose to the occasion for Los Angeles Golf Club with a 12-1 win over Woods, Kevin Kisner and Max Homa representing Jupiter Links Golf Club Tuesday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

LAGC co-owner and 23-time Grand Slam singles tennis champion Serena Williams had a front-row seat for the action alongside husband and fellow co-owner, Alexis Ohanian. Williams joined the broadcast booth midway through Triples and admitted she was having a hard time rooting against Woods. But that didn’t stop her from chirping at the 15-time major winner when he made his first putt of the night at the fifth.

“It’s about time, Tiger!” Williams shouted.

Woods had his game face on from the second he arrived on the property, dressed in all black with a backwards hat ahead of his SoFi Center debut. He upped the stakes even more when he reached the hitting area for the opening tee shot, throwing the Hammer to make the first hole worth two points. Then he piped a 3-wood down the middle of the fairway.

“That was awesome. Seriously man, that was the best,” Woods said. “We got [SoFi Center] started. Got it hopping with a little Hammer. Let’s go.”

Fans in attendance included Woods’ 15-year-old son, Charlie Woods, and his mom, Kultida Woods, who flashed a big smile when Tiger drained a par putt to salvage a tie at the par-3 fifth hole – one of a few fun highlights on an otherwise long night for JLGC.

With JLGC trailing 6-1 through eight holes, Kisner looked up to the younger Woods for help.

“Charlie, you want to come play?” Kisner said. “Come sub in, man.”

Kisner later provided some much-needed comedic relief in Singles at the par-3 14th hole, On the Rocks. On his second shot from a back bunker, Kisner mishit the ball and launched a missile off the flagstick.

The ensuing sound and overall effect of the shot had Woods crying laughing, unable to gather himself for quite some time.

“That was one of the funniest moments I've ever seen, [Kisner] hitting that shot like that,” Woods said. “It was just one of those weird nights.”

LAGC increased its lead to 8-1 at the par-5 ninth hole, The Spear, earning two more points with a par after throwing the Hammer midway through the hole and essentially putting the match out of reach entering Singles.

Rose was dialed in with the flatstick all night, draining a 10-footer for birdie at the par-3 third hole, Set in Stone, to pick up two points. He also made a 14-footer for birdie at the eighth to make it 6-1 LAGC, despite plenty of JLGC supporters making a lot of noise from the stands.

“I’m a guy on the golf course that’s very much, ‘quiet, please,’ ‘still, please,’ ... for me, this was very, very different. I think it’s actually gonna be good for me to deal with this,” said Rose, who added that the experience playing against Woods’ team out of the gate could help later on in the season. “Your awareness is definitely keyed into the energy out there, what people are saying. You’re hearing it all. Then you’ve got to dial in and execute ... the rowdier, the more crazy it gets, then the more dialed in you have to be.”

Theegala came through for LAGC on several occasions as well – he made a pressure-packed 9-footer for par at the seventh to tie the hole and set the tone at No. 9 with a 334-yard drive that eventually led to another two-point win for his team. The 27-year-old had so much adrenalin in the environment he said he was hitting the ball a full club farther than normal.

“I am so amped up right now, it’s hard to control myself,” Theegala said, as his dad, Murli Theegala, watched on live from SoFi Center.

He was joined by a wide range of pro athletes and celebrities including U.S. soccer star Alex Morgan, six-time NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver Brandon Marshall, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and fellow TGL stars Shane Lowry (The Bay Golf Club) and Keegan Bradley (Boston Common Golf).

LAGC picked up two points in the SoFi Cup Standings with the regulation win and is now tied for first place alongside The Bay Golf Club.

JLGC will look to earn its first points of the year at 6:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 27 against Boston Common Golf, while LAGC returns to action at 9 p.m. Feb. 4 against Boston Common Golf.