‘Thank god’: Major champ’s hilarious gaffe as golf revolution begins — LIVE

Major champion Shane Lowry had the honour of hitting the first competitive shot in TGL history when the new indoor golf league debuted at 1pm AEDT on Wednesday, and the Irishman was feeling the nerves.

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The 2019 Open champion forgot his tee and rushed to get one before piping the first shot straight down the middle.

Lowry even ripped his ear piece out because of the nerves, and had a hilarious response for viewers when asked about the moment afterwards.

“I forgot to get a tee as well. I was a little bit nervous. Thank god the screen is big,” Lowry said with a laugh.

Lowry launched the first tee shot into the massive 64 x 53 feet screen to kick things off for The Bay Golf Club, which is partly owned by NBA superstar Steph Curry, in their opening match against New York Golf Club, and the historic moment had Lowry thinking like a weekend hacker in the lead-up.

The 37-year-old took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on the eve of TGL’s grand opening to share his hilariously relatable concerns.

“If hitting the first ever shot in TGL history tomorrow night wasn’t nerve-racking enough, imagine if I miss the 60ft screen,” he posted followed by a monkey covering its eyes emoji and a laughing emoji.

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Lowry’s line is exactly what a typical social golfer would think in that situation, and it provides a valuable insight into what to expect from TGL.

Every player will be wearing microphones throughout the two-hour contest so that viewers can hear the banter, or listen to the way some of the PGA Tour’s finest players talk through their pre-shot decision-making.

Not that they will have a lot of time to do so.

There is a 40-second shot clock in TGL to keep things moving a quick pace.

Matches are played in teams of three over 15 holes, with the first nine holes being played in an alternate shot format before the final six holes changes to singles with each team member playing two holes solo.

Every hole is worth a point, unless The Hammer is thrown, which is essentially a wager to double the points value of that given hole.

The team with the most points at the end of the 15-holes wins the match, and if scores are level at the end, a best two-out-of-three closest to the pin contest will decide the match.

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Lowry will be joined by 2023 US Open champion Wyndham Clark and Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg, who burst onto the scene by being chosen for the 2023 Ryder Cup after only turning professional three months prior and coming runner-up finish at last year’s Masters on major debut, on the team named for San Francisco’s Bay Area.

The fourth member of their roster is Australian Min Woo Lee, but he remains at home in Perth so his debut will have to wait.

Their opponents, New York, possess a formidable trio of reigning US PGA and British Open Xander Schauffele, 2022 US Open Matt Fitzpatrick and six-time PGA Tour winner Rickie Fowler.