TGL played for the first time on Monday night instead of Tuesday, and it allowed McIlroy, the No. 3 player in the world, time to get a decent night’s sleep—he lives five minutes from the SoFi Center—and then fly to the west coast for the $20 million signature event.

"That was awesome. That was so cool," Rory McIlroy said to Tiger Woods as they walked off the green Monday after their TGL match was decided.

You can only imagine how the TGL technicians felt when Rory McIlroy walked into his 90-minute practice session last week with two launch monitors from his personal collection. The four-time major champion and TGL co-founder needed to put his concerns to rest before he debuted in the league: Is the simulator used for golf’s new indoor league accurate?