Rose Zhang and New York Golf Club fell 3-1 to Los Angeles in WTGL’s inaugural match, where a strict 40-second shot clock heightened player nerves during Sunday's debut

Hyper-aware of a potential time violation as the shot clock ticked down, Rose Zhang felt nervous taking her historic first WTGL tee shot.

Tiger Woods made history in January 2025 by becoming the first player penalized for a shot-clock violation in the inaugural season of TGL. The high-tech indoor golf league co-founded by Woods and Rory McIlroy features a strict 40-second shot clock per stroke to keep the game fast-paced for television.

Following New York Golf Club's 3–1 loss to Los Angeles in WTGL's inaugural match on Sunday night at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Zhang admitted to feeling nervous ahead of her tee shot.

“It was way more nerve-wracking than whatever skydiving I did last week,” Zhang said. “Honestly, standing over the edge of a plane versus being able to hit the first tee shot — I think about the history more when I’m out here.”

Her teammate, Linn Grant, then heard the bell for the 40-second shot clock and sprinted out to take her shot, as Zhang had shown by example that the shot clock is intimidating.

“I told myself I had to get up there as quickly as possible so I could calm my nerves down over the tee,” said Zhang. “When you're hitting the first shot, you don't want to have a time violation. It would be historical, first tee shot, first time violation.”

Although the team may have lost in the first-ever WTGL match, fellow New York Golf Club player Lydia Ko is looking forward to the league's future and to growing the women’s game.

“I think golf in general has become much more than a 72-hole stroke-play event,” said Ko after the match.

“The content creator space has grown a lot in golf. There's been different tours and different styles of how this sport has been played, and TGL has been around for a couple seasons as well.

"Every year it's gotten better, I think, in the sense of the fan experience and the player experience as well.

“To be involved in something like this, I think it's only -- golf is only going to benefit from it, and especially seeing like even the LA team, like Michelle is retired and she has the opportunity to come and compete and still feel the adrenaline that she might not feel anymore, as she is retired.

“I think it just brings a lot of generations together. I think it brings potentially a different demographic to watch the game, and I think we're played on a few different outlets as well.

"So, having that, people that normally watch ESPN or ION, ABC, I think it brings people that don't necessarily turn on Golf Channel every week, and I think that was one of the big purposes of this week, and I think that's why even like Linn, showcasing a little bit more of herself that you normally wouldn't see, and now two-hour coverage on the LPGA. I think this is such an amazing opportunity for us as a brand, and I think for the sport in general.”