SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — TGL is the tech-infused, virtual golf league that keeps golf fans entertained on Monday and Tuesday nights. It’s also probably attractive to younger golfers, with the big screen and the crazy holes.
It figures, then, that two young guns are crediting the tech-infused, virtual golf league TGL for getting them ready for PGA Tour competition.
Chris Gotterup smiles with his caddie on the second hole during the final round of the 2026 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.
Chris Gotterup, a member of Justin Thomas’s Atlanta Drive squad, and Michael Thorbjornsen, a sub on Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common, both had strong weeks at the 2026 WM Phoenix Open. Gotterup opened his week at TPC Scottsdale with a 63 and closed with a playoff victory over Hideki Matsuyama, his fourth PGA Tour title.
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Thorbjornsen, seeking his first PGA Tour, shot 66-71-65 over the first three days and then climbed into the solo lead with three holes to play during Sunday’s action before ending up in a tie for third.
The WMPO is know for huge crowds and lots of stimulus. Maybe TGL really did help this duo perform well all week.
“I feel like TGL has definitely helped me focus when the crowd is loud and you kind of have people hanging over you,” Thorbjornsen said on Saturday. “I wish I could putt as well as I did on these greens here as I do on TGL. I feel like it definitely helps giving me some confidence out here on the greens. I know I can make putts on Astroturf or grass. It can be done. Again, yeah, just having people kind of hanging over you and getting booed when you hit a poor shot, you just kind of deal with it now.”
Gotterup competed in the most recent match, last Monday ahead of the WM.
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“We were flying back from TGL and I was like, ‘I need to see Saturday here this week,'” meaning he really wanted to make the cut in Scottsdale. “I think to start the year I really felt like I worked hard in the offseason to get ready for the season. TGL in the offseason also, just getting used to adrenaline rush you get inside there and being able to hit shots under pressure has helped me and my game.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Chris Gotterup, Michael Thorbjornsen credit TGL for PGA Tour success
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