Tiger Woods’ Niece Has Strong Feelings About Charley Hull & Co. Getting Recruited by Her Uncle’s $500M League

On Monday, TMRW Sports unveiled the first batch of LPGA pros signing up for WTGL. The star-studded list includes but is not limited to Charley Hull, world no. 1 Jeeno Thitikul, and Lexi Thompson. Only after the announcement did Cheyenne Woods, niece of Tiger Woods, finally chime in with her strongly excited take.

In her Instagram story, Woods shared a picture of the five pros signed so far, writing, “Can’t wait!! 👏👏👏.” Cheyenne Woods has not played a professional event since her last appearance at the Cambia Portland Classic in September 2021. She has not retired from professional golf but stepped away to focus on her family. She has expressed her desire to return for her kids so that they can see her play.

Tiger Woods himself has yet to comment on the recent WTGL developments. But as mentioned above, five LPGA pros have so far signed up for the team event: Jeeno Thitikul, Charley Hull, Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson, and Lydia Ko.

Following the announcement, Mike McCarley, co-founder (along with Tiger and Rory McIlroy) and CEO of TMRW Sports, said, “WTGL will be a global stage to showcase LPGA stars, and this first wave of committed players represents that opportunity with some of the world’s best.”

Early this month, the LPGA and TMRW Sports, valued at $500M, announced the new WTGL, launching this winter. In simpler terms, it’s TGL-style golf but for the ladies. As of now, the teams and rosters are to be decided. But the viewers get the same techy, mic’d-up moments they love from PGA Tour guys.

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Lexi Thompson seemed excited about it, too, saying, “I think it will have a huge impact. The women’s game is moving in the right direction, but to see the women involved at such an early stage of TGL, I think it’s going to do nothing but great things.”

Now, like TGL, WTGL gets its own schedule. Sure, some overlap might happen, but McCarley says they’ll team up to make events complement the LPGA’s season and offseason. But the most exciting, perhaps, is that WTGL will be a great way to attract younger crowds to the LPGA.

TGL research shows its first season snagged one of sports’ youngest audiences—second only to the NBA—with a median age of 52 and 41% of viewers aged 18-49. Plus, 32% of 18-34-year-olds didn’t usually watch PGA Tour events, and 10% of existing Tour fans watched more coverage last season.

In fact, LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler said early this month, “It [WTGL] creates another global stage for our athletes—one that helps fans connect more deeply with them and continues to elevate the visibility and growth of women’s golf.” So, the excitement is palpable.

Now, it’s true that the LPGA signed up with new TV partners for better visibility, but the WTGL will surely bring more attention to the circuit. And that is not to say that Thompson’s involvement with the new team golf event has gained vast support.

Lexi Thompson’s involvement in the WTGL brings a dilemma

“Why don’t you get somebody young out there? Someone who will anchor the LPGA for the next decade,” asked Andy Johnson of The Shotgun Start. “Wouldn’t the point of the women’s TGL be like, I watched these women play, they have great personalities, and they’re really talented on ESPN, and thus then I might go watch an LPGA event?.”

Now, that is not to say that the 30-year-old Lexi Thompson in herself is a poor choice. She has eleven LPGA titles in her hands, including a major championship. Thompson’s also a seven-time Solheim Cup team member, two-time Olympian, and three-time LPGA award recipient. So, there’s never a doubt that Thompson is one of the most visible and popular LPGA golfers.

Yet, it has to do with her limited playing schedule. She played only 13 events last year, following her “semi-retirement.” That is also one of the reasons why Thompson was called out on The Mixed Bag. 

However, it must be mentioned that Thompson herself has often clarified her stance on that particular matter. At the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open, she wrote in an Instagram post, “Big picture, I probably shouldn’t have said that I was stepping away because people thought I was retiring.”

Despite this, Johnson agrees the WTGL might be good for the LPGA: “I will say that I think women’s TGL has a better chance of success than the week-to-week LPGA tour in its current construct.” So, maybe it’s not all too bad.