Tiger Woods sent his congratulations to Atlanta Drive after they were crowned the inaugural champions of TGL – but the golf legend was nowhere to be seen for the climax of his revolutionary new venture.
Just days after confirming his romance with Vanessa Trump, the 49-year-old praised the winning team – Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, Justin Thomas and Lucas Glover – who took home the $9million prize.
‘Congratulations to the Atlanta GC, (owner) Arthur Blank, JT, Pat, Billy Ho and Lucas. What a finish and a great way to close out year one of TGL,’ Woods wrote on social media.
But neither Woods nor Rory McIlroy – who co-founded TGL – were on stage to crown the champions on Tuesday night.
It comes after Woods and Trump went public with their relationship by posting two pictures on social media and declaring ‘love is in the air’.
DailyMail.com exclusively broke the news that the golf icon was dating Donald Trump Jr.’s ex-wife and Woods wrote on Sunday night: ‘Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together.
Tiger Woods congratulated the winners of TGL but was nowhere to be seen for the finals
Atlanta Drive GC were crowned the inaugural champions of TGL in Florida on Tuesday night
DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that the golf icon was dating Donald Trump Jr.’s ex-wife
‘At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts.’
They live 20 minutes apart in the wealthy southern Florida enclave of Palm Beach – not far from where Atlanta Drive GC beat New York Golf Club in a dramatic second leg to win the best-of-three series 2-0.
It was the crowning moment for the virtual golf league, which was delayed by a year after damage to the SoFi Center – the specially-built arena in Palm Beach Gardens that cost a reported $50m.
Woods and McIlroy were among the brains behind the new team format, which involves a state-of-the-art simulator.
But both opted to stay away from the final on Tuesday. They were given a shout-out by Blank, the team owner of Atlanta Drive, as he collected the trophy.
Woods did not appear at last week’s TGL semifinals following surgery on a ruptured Achilles. The 49-year-old competed for Jupiter Links in the inaugural season but they did not reach the postseason.
On Tuesday, Atlanta Drive staged an unlikely comeback to win 4-3.
Horschel sank a critical 17-foot, double-breaking putt at the 14th to collect two points and pull Atlanta into the lead, before teammate Cantlay iced it with a deft pitch shot stone dead at the final hole.
Neither Woods nor his co-founder Rory McIlroy were on stage to crown the first ever winners
Billy Horschel sank a critical 17-foot, double-breaking putt at the 14th as Atlanta triumphed
The winners split a purse of $9m, with New York receiving half that amount.
‘This is something different than what we play every week. We want to entertain, that’s what this is about. It’s been great to be with all three of these guys,’ Horschel said.
Atlanta won the first match of the best-of-three series on Monday, which left the New York team of Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young needing to sweep both scheduled matches on Tuesday.
‘It’s completely exceeded my expectations,’ Thomas said of TGL. ‘The competitiveness, once the playoffs got here, it was not chippy, but it was competitive. We wanted to win.’
