TGL PRESENTED BY SOFI: JUPITER LINKS GOLF CLUB VS LOS ANGELES GOLF CLUB

January 20, 2026

Tiger Woods

Max Homa

Kevin Kisner

Akshay Bhatia

SoFi Center

Jupiter Links GC

Press Conference

Los Angeles Golf Club 8, Jupiter Links GC 4

THE MODERATOR: Can you just talk a little bit about playing out here at TGL?

AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, it's fun. I definitely got used to the environment a little more and the pace and time-outs and everything. Again, I feel like we're really, really close to playing great and having momentum and winning some matches. It obviously hasn't gone our way yet. But overall I feel pretty good hitting tee shots and iron shots, and then I think some of the chipping and putting I've just got to do a little more practice.

Q. Akshay, I feel like every common-man golfer finds themselves when they're in a sim taking more chances because what's the worst that could happen. Do you find it more tempting to take more chances even in a competition like this because it's hitting into a screen but not on a golf course?

AKSHAY BHATIA: Not necessarily because you can easily kind of put yourself in a tough spot, especially around the greens or with certain putts. So you still have to be really strategic with that stuff. But it definitely helps, like obviously there's limited conditions. As long as you hit your number and you start it relatively close to a target, shots can get closer and closer and you feel like you can be aggressive in that aspect.

Q. For Max, I've only seen you in here for a couple weeks but it seems like your swing looks much better, looks like you're in great shape, like you're excited for the season. What's your off-season been like in terms of getting ready for 2026?

MAX HOMA: Yeah, it was the longest downtime I've had from competitive golf, I think, in my life. It was nice to get a lot of work in.

Yeah, my game feels good. It was trending pretty good at the end of last year. It's been nice. It's been really cool to get out here with these guys and compete, given all the downtime. So it feels nice. But yeah, off-season was just like normal; you just work real hard and get ready for the season.

Q. Tiger, just got a broader league-wide question for you. We've seen a lot of positive moments from the alternates this year, whether Akshay, Gotterup, Thorbjornsen, but given how the roster constructions are, you have four main players, three active, how do you view the idea of maybe expanding the rosters, creating like a true bench, factoring in performance with the lineup decisions?

TIGER WOODS: It's a tricky thing because if we're getting guys to play on a Monday, Tuesday and they're on the West Coast right now, it's tough. It's a commitment. It's a way for us to expand our brands, show fans another side of the players' personalities, and hopefully make golf younger entertainment-wise.

I know we're expanding next year and going to Detroit and maybe another city, so the rosters are going to get bigger. It's just going to be challenging. That's one of the things. It's one of those things where the players who are playing, it's a commitment to growing the game of golf and growing the PGA TOUR and this type of environment and entertainment.

Q. As you're out there on TOUR, practicing, wherever you're playing, how much are you getting questions from the golfers who haven't experienced TGL, like hey, how is this? Is it cool? Are you enjoying it, enjoying the team aspect? What kind of questions are you getting from people who haven't really experienced it yet?

TIGER WOODS: I can't say because I haven't played the TOUR in a while.

KEVIN KISNER: Dan Hicks doesn't ask me much.

MAX HOMA: Yeah, you get it quite often. Last year I think everybody kind of saw and heard from all of us how much fun it was. I think a lot of guys in the beginning thought it was a bit silly and fun, and then as you lose or win, you get competitive. I thought you saw that a lot with the Atlanta team.

I think the guys, whether they all ask or not, I think they have definitely gravitated towards it a little bit. I don't know if they're watching necessarily, but you can tell there's some thought in there from a decent amount of the guys.

AKSHAY BHATIA: Obviously before I became an alternate for Jupiter, I was asking a bunch of guys how was it. Obviously the timing of it and everything with the TOUR schedule, everyone just said it's so much fun, and then actually when you get in there, the juices get going and you're competing and you really want to win, and so when I heard that, I thought for me it was great to get this high-pressure environment, play for a team, try and win points, try and win matches.

It's been amazing. Like the adrenaline rush I have out there when I first stepped on the tee last week to now, it's just, like, very similar to TOUR golf, and it's really fun for me to experience that.

Q. For Akshay and Max, you guys talked about the lengthy off-season and everything. You guys are playing the American Express this week. Is there anything you can take out of this TGL over the last two weeks that you maybe feel like, wow, I'm hitting it good, or is there anything going into Amex that you can take out of TGL that gives you some inspiration for this week?

AKSHAY BHATIA: Honestly, I think, again, when you're hitting in the simulator, the environment, there's no wind. Obviously you have certain tucked pins, so that's kind of nice to visualize those shots in that simulation. And going into Amex, there's typically not a lot of wind, very similar to this. So I kind of took that as part of the preparation.

But also for me, I haven't played in a long time, and so getting the juices going and feeling my heart rate get up again, it's a lot of fun. I think it's nice for me to get in that environment again of competitive golf.

MAX HOMA: Yeah, it's nice the heart rate up, that's for sure. I feel like come Thursday morning, you probably won't be as -- it won't be as foreign to be a little bit nervous. I don't know if there's a ton -- it's sometimes nice; it's hard to tell in there all the time, but you work on all this stuff in the off-season and you come here, and if you swing it decent, it's obviously a boost.

Q. We've seen a few more whimsical creative type holes in TGL this year. What are your thoughts on some of these new holes, like Last Toll, Cenote, Stinger, and how do you balance the competitiveness with the fantastic nature of some of these holes?

TIGER WOODS: Well, that's something that the fans wanted to see, something different than last year. When we first introduced this last year, it was more traditional golf holes, traditional -- something they're used to seeing. Once we created this, the fans said, hey, we'd like to have you hit certain shots, we'd like you to be more creative on the design aspect, so we've done that, and I think we've been reactive in a good way to give the fans what they want.

I think that overall the league is expanding, it's getting better, and we're showcasing golf at a totally different level and an experience that I think this new younger generation is going to like.