Xander Schauffele has urged TGL’s bosses to make its second season shorter after the inaugural campaign concluded on Tuesday.

The tech-powered golf league’s debut season ended with Atlanta Drive defeating New York Golf Club in the finals, and there is plenty for the league’s bosses and backers to be happy about. TGL has been met with positive TV ratings that have exceeded expectations, and the product – dreamt up by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and their TMRW Sports business partner Mike McCarley – has been largely well-received by fans.

But Schauffele, a member of the defeated NYGC team, believes changes need to be made for season two in 2026, calling for the league to shorten its season. TGL debuted on Jan. 7 and lasted 77 days, with one or two matches played each week – excluding the weeks of the Genesis Invitational and The Players.

World No. 3 Schauffele, the reigning PGA and Open champion, believes the season lasted too long. He told the Palm Beach Post. “I’m sure a lot of fans and the producers and ESPN, everyone is going to have a little bit of input.

“I think just like us players sit down in our offseason with our team, they’re going to sit down here and see how they can tweak everything, whether it’s shortening the season or having it end [sooner]. I was talking to someone earlier about that; having it end sort of just before The Players, that would be something that we’d be up for.”

Schauffele’s stance is understandable. The golf season begins in earnest with The Players in mid-March, and The Masters follows a few weeks later, and TGL could be viewed as something of a distraction in players’ preparation for the biggest tournaments. But for his involvement in the league, playing just five matches, Schauffele received a handsome $1.125 million in prize money.

 

It is hard to envisage how TGL could reduce the number of matches it plays. Each team plays five regular-season matches, taking on each team once. The playoffs are comprised of single-game semifinals and a best-of-three finals series.

However, there is scope for the league to shorten its calendar. While the season cannot begin until the NFL regular season and ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football’ commitments have concluded, TGL has had weeks when multiple matches have been played, something that theoretically could be increased to complete the schedule quicker.

TMRW Sports chief McCarley said work is underway with ESPN to set the 2026 TGL schedule. “This is complementary to the existing PGA Tour,” he said. “You keep iterating on versions of the schedule. But the core premise is the same. You use football as a promotional platform, not a don’t compete with it, right?”