The biggest question surrounding TGL’s 2027 season is the same question that has dominated the last three decades of professional golf: What will Tiger Woods do?
But regardless of Woods’ presence — whether he shows up as captain, player or some combination of the two — the league’s most promising trend comes in the players it signed in the offseason.
A couple pros bowed out ahead of the third season (more on that in a minute) but the league added a seventh team and officially expanded rosters to five pros per team. The big signal here is that TGL has buy-in from many of the biggest names on Tour; let’s run through who’s new. But first…
Let’s start with the departed players: Xander Schauffele seems to be spending more time on the West Coast, away from the friendly confines of the SoFi Center. That’s a loss for the league; TGL benefitted greatly from Schauffele’s sense of mischief, as did the rest of the relatively reserved roster (Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler) at New York Golf Club.
Adam Scott lives a long way from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and it was already tough to make the logistics work in seasons 1 and 2; it’s no shock to see him bow out ahead of season 3.
And Kevin Kisner and Lucas Glover weren’t renewed by their respective teams; thus far we’ve only heard from Kisner on the subject. He said his two-year contract had expired — and teased out Woods’ playing plans:
Several of the below players filled in as alternates last year, but for simplicity’s sake we’ll lump ’em all in as the 2027 rookie class, which consists of 14 pros we’ll divide into three categories:
Brooks Koepka (Motor City GC)
Koepka is in a category of his own; he headlines the expansion team of Motor City Golf Club and headlines this free-agent class because he has five major championships while the rest combine for one.
(Related: A remarkable stat floating around at the moment is that, by the time next year’s Masters begins, there will be zero 20-somethings with a major title.)
While Koepka’s quotes about TGL haven’t been fully rah-rah (“it’s something to do,” he said, as part of a longer quote) his presence sends a strong message — as does his suggestion that the league could provide a competitive edge.
Ryan Fox (The Bay)
Si Woo Kim (Motor City)
Jake Knapp (Motor City)
Bud Cauley (Motor City)
Keith Mitchell (Jupiter Links)
Ben Griffin (New York GC)
These six are a combination of trending and trendy; they’re popular players, entertaining and generally in good form. Fox won a major championship this year, Kim played to his best level yet, Knapp was off to a hot start before his year was derailed by injury, Cauley cemented an incredible comeback story, Mitchell is a favorite among players and fans alike and Griffin is still a top-30 player in the world.
Chris Gotterup (Atlanta Drive)
Alex Fitzpatrick (New York GC)
Jackson Koivun (Motor City)
Michael Brennan (Atlanta Drive)
Michael Thorbjornsen (Boston Common)
Blades Brown (The Bay)
Ben James (LAGC)
There was a three-week stretch at the end of the PGA Tour’s regular season where three consecutive tournaments were won by Americans 25 years old and younger. That was Jackson Koivun at the 3M Open, Michael Thorbjornsen at the Rocket Classic and Michael Brennan at the Wyndham Championship.
Now they’re all on TGL.
The reigning No. 1 in PGA Tour University has gotten his pro career off to a red-hot start, including three top-five finishes in his last four events; now Ben James is on TGL, too.
The most dramatic PGA Tour rookie story belongs to Alex Fitzpatrick, who earned his card alongside his brother Matt at the Zurich Classic; now he’s a TGL rookie, too, and will play alongside Matt for New York.
The best teenager in the world just became the youngest pro to earn a PGA Tour card via the Korn Ferry Tour; now Blades Brown will play TGL, too.
And nobody won more than three times on the PGA Tour in 2026, which means Chris Gotterup (World No. 6 and winner of the Sony Open, WM Phoenix Open and John Deere Classic) was a no-brainer for Atlanta to lock in.
I’m not saying you have to love TGL. I’m not saying you have to watch TGL. I’m just saying that the signing of these pros signals something important for the league’s future: that on winter weeknights in 2027, in the golf world, the SoFi Center is still the place to be. The Tour’s young stars see enough benefit that they’re signing up. The league is still in prove-it mode heading to its third season, but its offseason guarantees this won’t just be a Tiger Woods show.
The rosters are plenty deep behind him.
The league kicks off its season Dec. 27, while the WTGL debuts in November. Complete rosters are below.
Players: Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel, Patrick Cantlay, Chris Gotterup, Michael Brennan
Players: Wyndham Clark, Min Woo Lee, Ludvig Aberg, Blades Brown and Ryan Fox
Players: Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama, Michael Thorbjornsen
Players: Tiger Woods, Tom Kim, Max Homa, Akshay Bhatia, Keith Mitchell
Players: Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, Ben James
Players: Brooks Koepka, Jackson Koivun, Si Woo Kim, Jake Knapp, Bud Cauley
Players: Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young, Ben Griffin, Alex Fitzpatrick
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