Tiger Woods returns at TGL and can't stop LA from winning SoFi Cup

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods competed for the first time in more than a year and that wasn't nearly enough to stop Los Angeles Golf Club, which made three straight eagles to close out a 9-2 victory in the TGL final Tuesday night to capture the SoFi Cup.

Woods had been captain and cheerleader for Jupiter Links as he recovered from back surgery in October. He decided Monday evening after Los Angeles rallied to win the first match in the best-of-3 series that he was ready to play, replacing Kevin Kisner.

His biggest moment was missing a 3-foot putt on the seventh hole, slamming his putter to the turf in disgust. That gave LA momentum, and it turned so quickly the 15-hole match ended in 10 holes.

“We got our (butts) kicked at the end,” Woods said. “Three eagles in a row. I missed a short one to give them momentum and we never got it back.”

Woods had said earlier playing TGL was just a step. He gave no indication when it was over whether he would play in the Masters on April 9-12.

“This body ... it doesn’t recover like it did when it was 24, 25. It doesn’t mean I’m not trying,” Woods said. “I’ve had a couple bad injuries here over the past years that I’ve had to fight through and it’s taken some time. But I keep trying.”

"I want to play. I love the tournament,” he said. “I’m going to be there either way with The Loop that’s going up there, as well as the Champions Dinner. ... We'll see how it goes. I'll be practicing, playing at home this week and keep trying to make progress.”

His short miss gave LA its first lead at 3-2, and Tommy Fleetwood followed by making a 12-foot eagle putt on the reachable par-4 eighth.

Max Homa had suggested earlier throwing a hammer — that makes the hole worth two points — if Jupiter took advantage on a par 5 during alternate shot. That backfired.

Fleetwood drove into a bunker, and Woods hit 3-wood to keep it short of the bunker. Homa hit the approach to 15 feet for an eagle chance, but Justin Rose hit a beauty out of the bunker to just inside 15 feet. Tom Kim missed Jupiter's eagle putt, and Sahith Theegala swirled in his eagle putt for a 6-2 lead going into singles.

That lasted one hole. Homa missed the fairway on a reachable par 5 and had to lay up. Rose hit the fairway and his second shot rolled out to 4 feet. LA threw the hammer (making the hole worth three points) and Homa had to make it to have any chance. He missed the putt, the eagle was conceded and LA walked off with the $9 million team prize.

“It sucked,” Homa told ESPN. “Not going to give you a whole lot more than that.”

Homa said later he thought Jupiter had to win the hole to extend the matches.

“It was just a really dumb move on my part,” he said.

Jupiter Links won $4.5 million.

For Woods, it was about playing again, even in an indoor golf league. He last played in early March 2025 before rupturing his Achilles tendon, and then he had a seventh back surgery in October.

His first full swing was 3-wood from 279 yards just off the green that set up birdie for a 1-0 lead. Jupiter went ahead 2-0 when Woods lagged a 45-foot putt to a foot for a conceded birdie. That was the extent of his highlights.

Still uncertain is whether Woods decides to be the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 matches in Ireland. The PGA of America is hopeful of an answer by the end of the month.

His mind was only on the match he played.

“It felt great to be back with these guys,” Woods said. “Frustrated we didn't get it done. We had opportunities. It feels good to be back. I'd like to be back in better circumstances.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Sahith Theegala hits a practice iron before the TGL finals golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

Tommy Fleetwood of the Jupiter Links Golf Club plays his shot from the second tee during the TGL finals golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

Tiger Woods hits a practice shot from a bunker before the TGL finals golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

Tiger Woods hits a practice iron from a grass pad before the TGL finals golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

Tiger Woods of the Jupiter Links Golf Club plays his shot from the second tee the TGL finals golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

Democrat Emily Gregory won a Florida special election on Tuesday, flipping a state legislative district that is home to Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach estate that President Donald Trump counts as his residence.

The president had endorsed Gregory’s rival, Jon Maples. In a social media post Monday, he urged voters to turn out, saying Maples was backed “by so many of my Palm Beach County friends.”

Democrats celebrated the victory as the latest sign voters are turning against Trump and Republicans ahead of the midterm elections in November. Tuesday was the latest in a series of lopsided or improbable victories in special elections across the country since Trump returned to the White House more than a year ago.

The district was previously represented by Mike Caruso, a Republican who resigned to become Palm Beach County's clerk. Caruso won by 19 percentage points in 2024.

“If Mar-a-Lago is vulnerable, imagine what’s possible this November,” said Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. She said Tuesday's race was the 29th seat that Democrats have flipped from Republican control since Trump took office.

“Gas prices are spiking, grocery costs are up, and families can’t get by — it’s clear voters at the polls are fed up with Republicans,” Williams said.

With almost all votes counted, Gregory led by 2.4 percentage points, or 797 votes.

Gregory grew up north of Palm Beach in Stuart. She’s the owner of a fitness company that works with pregnant and postpartum women, and she has never run for elected office before.

Speaking to MSNOW after her victory, she said she was “pretty shocked" and “having a fairly out-of-body experience.”

Democrats have notched some notable wins in Republican-controlled Florida. In December, Eileen Higgins won the race for Miami mayor, the first time a Democrat had led the city in nearly three decades. She defeated a Trump-endorsed Republican in a campaign that leaned heavily into criticism of the president’s immigration crackdown, a message that resonated with the city’s large Hispanic population.

Farther west in Texas, Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a reliably Republican state Senate district in a special election in January.

Trump immediately distanced himself from the loss in a district he’d won by 17 points in 2024, saying “I’m not involved in that" even though he had endorsed the Republican candidate.

The Texas race energized Democrats desperate for signs of momentum after being locked out of power in Washington.

But winning in Trump's backyard left them especially ebullient.

“Donald Trump’s own neighbors just sent a crystal clear message: They are furious and ready for change,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin.

Trump voted by mail in the Tuesday election and his ballot was counted, Palm Beach County voter records show. He chose a mail ballot despite publicly bashing the voting method as a source of fraud and pushing Congress to curtail the practice.

Trump was a New Yorker for most of his life but switched his personal residence and voter registration to Florida during his first term. Mar-a-Lago has become a gathering place for Trump's friends and allies, as well as business executives and foreign leaders looking to curry favor with him. He spends many weekends there as president.

FILE - An aerial view of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during the swearing in ceremony for Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)