Jackson Koivun was still the most anticipated young player of 2027.
After all, his professional arrival had been highly anticipated for years. There has long been a sense that the former world No. 1 amateur and Auburn standout is differentgiven his eye-catching collegiate resume, his talent for winning, his ability to embrace the biggest moments and bring his best, making him the type of prospect with a high floor and a very, very high ceiling.
But he became a peer bigger a deal when he looked at Scottie Scheffler at the 3M Openemerging as the winner in only his third start as a pro.
And it’s an even bigger deal when he was named to the US Presidents Cup team, signaling his elevated perception among his peers on Tour.
And bigger still when he brought several significant moments in the aforementioned Presidents Cup, culminating in a shade of the club of Tiger-Woods in the 18th hole in his pivotal singles match against the player of the first place of the International Team, Si Woo Kim, to come out the only player of the United States undefeated in the week.
That’s why it felt significant Monday that Koivun signed with Motor City Golf Club, the expansion team that represents Detroit in TGL. Although the golf world is probably more interested in what he’s doing at Augusta National, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews, we’re intrigued to see him go to work at the SoFi Center, too — and get to know him in the process.
This seems to be something of a trial year for TGL. In its debut season 2025, the league was new and shiny, and for 2026 they added a captivating set of new holes and developed some of the peculiarities of the game. But many of the players’ initial contracts — plus their TV deal with ESPN — expired after two years. There is a world where, in year 3, the league began to fade away.
Koivun’s signature suggests that is not the case.
It is not right Birch tree. Last week, TGL announced that ESPN will remain its media partner going forward. The WTGL is inching towards a proper fall launch date. And the signing of fifth major champion Brooks Koepka, one of the biggest players of this generation and a new cornerstone of Motor City GC, signaled that TGL is still the place to be.
But Koivun’s arrival suggests it’s also the place to be for the next generation.
Much of TGL’s continued success is based on its location and proximity to its top stars. West Palm Beach, Fla., and the surrounding cities (Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Hobe Sound, etc.) is home to generations of superstars – Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, just to start – as well as many of the professionals of the current game: think Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry, Keegan Bradley and many others. But it’s also home to its next generation, from Cameron Young to Chris Gotterup to, now, Koivun. That’s good news for TGL, which has an intentionally intimate footprint, with the SoFi Center having a seating capacity of just 1,500. League games don’t need to sell out a football stadium; TGL has achieved its mission if it is the best place in the city for a golf fan to be in any night of the week.
Many professionals mentioned TGL as a significant chance to bond with their teammates, as a chance for families to get to know each other better, as an outing that their children particularly enjoy. The Tour’s new limited schedule for the first season also suggests that there will be significant alignment between TGL and Tour play. This is the other directive of TGL: work for yourself in the life of Tour professionals.
And that’s why a critical mass of Tour pros in town means others travel to join them. Other rising stars are just down the coast, closer to PGA Tour HQ, with Ludvig Aberg, Michael Thorbjornsen and Michael Brennan playing in the greater Jacksonville area. Others come from further afield, such as Justin Rose (England) or Max Homa (Scottsdale) or Collin Morikawa (Las Vegas).
There are questions surrounding who else we will see at SoFi in 2027. There have been murmurs of offseason trades and the league formalizing its expanded rosters. It will be interesting to see which other major characters from 2026 show up on TGL in 2027 (the big hit champ Ryan Fox comes to mind). And the Tiger Woods question remains: Will we see him for Jupiter Links next year?
None of this should be your thing, of course. You can wait to see if Koivun tees up at PGA West, or Torrey Pines, or Pebble Beach. But the fact that he chose to start his year at the SoFi Center signals that TGL still has reason to believe in a bright future.
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