PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — New York Golf Club's Rose Zhang recently skydived for the first time, completing a tandem jump in Lake Elsinore, California, before the 2026 Solheim Cup. Yet, the adrenaline she felt standing in an open door of a plane at 10,000 feet was not quite like standing over the first tee shot in WTGL history.
"It was way more nerve-wracking than whatever skydiving I did the last week," Zhang said.
"I think about the history and being over the shot there was a lot of adrenaline pumping. I felt like everything was dialed to that moment. My goal was just to get the ball off the tee."
Zhang was hanging out at the New York team area at the SoFi Center on Sunday, thinking about that first shot when she heard the bong that starts the 40-second
shot clock. She sprinted to the tee box and crushed her driver 301 yards down the middle of the fairway on New York's home hole, Cut the Sails.
And with it the most unique, indoor, high-tech league in the history of women's golfwas underway.
"The moment is unbelievable," said Craig Kessler, commissioner of the LPGA. "They are here to compete and they are going to be showcased all over the world."
The day, which ended with Los Angeles Golf Club winning the first-ever WTGL match, 3-1, over New York, featured LA's Michelle Wie West, Alison Lee and Gaby Lopez against New York's Linn Grant, Lydia Ko and Zhang.
There were plenty of highlights between the fashion, including Grant sporting a pair of knee-high Ghost Spring Boots during competition; the shot-making, Grant's hole-saving 23-footer from off the green on No. 7; and the gamesmanship that came with the Hammer, the yellow flag each team possesses that can double the state of a hole.
"I was actually really nervous," said Wie West, the oldest competitor of WTGL's 25 players. "Just not playing competitive golf anymore and then being in that environment. It was such a blast. I had so much fun. The fans were electric … the music."
The format follows TGL, the men's version co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, that is entering its third year. While the men have allowed golf fans a window into their personalities, the women took that directive and ratcheted it up a couple of notches.
From the start, which included the women walking WTGL's version of the red carpet as they entered the SoFi Center, to the teams being introduced through smoke with walkout music, to the dancing that accompanied the music, the women provided a nice mixture of entertainment and competition.
"The music and all the energy that we never get (on the LPGA Tour) … it's amazing," Lopez said. "The dancing, the cheers. I feel this is us being able to put the nerves out there in a different way that we're not used to."
As for the fashion, Grant's boots laced along the front provided a look few, if any, have seen on a golf course.
The Swede decided on her footwear the morning of the match, opening a package from Adidas, thinking, "Those are really cool, and I should play in them."
"This is such a special platform and it's a place for us to kind of showcase who we are outside of just our regular events," Grant said. "I think in any way we can try to show our personality a little bit, what we like and don't like … I think outfits are really fun, so it's just a part of who I am, I guess."
Wie West showed what she was during her 15-year LPGA career in which she won five events, including one major, and five Solheim Cups, by nearly recording the first hole-in-one in WTGL history.
Wie West's tee shot on the 184-yard hole struck the pin flush and rolled 5 feet away.
"I thought that was definitely in," she said.
"We all did," Lopez said.
Michelle Wie West sought advice from Rickie Fowler
Wie West, who dropped to her knees when it did not drop, heeded the advice of Rickie Fowler, who attended the match with his daughters.
She asked Fowler for "last-minute advice."
"Go straight," he said. She could not have gone any straighter.
Wie West said she did not have a good feel for the hole during Saturday's practice but decided to commit to the 6-iron.
"I hit it good, and if you didn't hear it over the mic, I said, 'ooh, that's good,' " she said. "Very shocked that didn't go in. I thought there was no way that was not going in."
Wie West, and LA, clinched the match when Lee made a 4-foot putt to halve the 14th hole. And while the results certainly matter, so much more was accomplished on opening day.
"To be involved in something like this, I think golf is only going to benefit from it," Ko said. "I think it brings potentially a different demographic to watch the game. It brings people that don't necessarily turn on Golf Channel every week. This is such an amazing opportunity for us as a brand and I think for the sport in general."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: WTGL debut shows a different side of LPGA stars Michelle Wie West, Rose Zhang, Lydia Ko
