Amanda Balionis applauds Serena Williams’ husband for Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy demand

TGL is exploring adding an all-women’s team after Alexis Ohanian pushed for an expansion, and golf reporter Amanda Balionis applauded him on Instagram as talks continue

Amanda Balionis is behind Alexis Ohanian as he pushes for a women’s TGL team(Image: Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis has supported Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, as he pushes for a women’s expansion team in TGL, the new golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

TGL exceeded expectations in its first season, as Justin Thomas’ Atlanta Drive Golf Club won the inaugural championship. Six teams competed in the debut season, and the business partner of Woods and McIlroy, Mike McCarley, revealed that a number of potential bidders have shown interest as the league looks to expand.

Ohanian, who founded Los Angeles Golf Club alongside Williams, is looking to strike a deal with the LPGA and form an all-women’s team. Ohanian recently spoke in more detail about his intentions, and Balionis, one of the biggest reporters in golf, shared the clip to her Instagram story and added clapping emojis as she endorsed his plans.

“Part of my pitch for why I wanted to be the first owner in the league is because I wanted a women’s team,” Ohanian said of his future intentions with TGL. “I’ve been bugging these guys about the LPGA deal for a minute.

“They have been very interested. It’s just these things take time, and I’m not allowed to make any news.”

Ohanian has invested heavily in women’s sports, pumping money into NWSL team Angel City FC, women’s only track and field event Athlos, and the reality TV series ‘Off Season FC’ which follows NWSL professionals. Ohanian now wants to bring a women’s team to TGL, and the league is taking it very seriously.

Balionis has applauded Ohanian as he seeks a women’s TGL team(Image: @Balionis / Instagram)

In response to Ohanian’s comments, McCarley said: “There’s no secret we’re working on that. Alexis has been a great thought leader for us on that, and I think most of our team owners are right behind them in that area, too.”

TGL has formed a successful partnership with ESPN, and it’s expected that the league will continue to grow with each season. Woods and McIlroy both competed in the debut season, but, ironically, their respective teams were the only clubs that failed to reach the TGL Playoffs.

However, both professionals were delighted with how things had started, and Woods said: “I’m proud of my teammates, I’m proud of what we’ve built here, the excitement we’ve been able to bring to Jupiter and, more importantly, the game of golf.”

When reflecting on the first year of TGL, McIlroy told Golfweek: “I think everyone that played had an amazing time. Even the guys that played one match, whether it be Nick Dunlap or Tony Finau, they all just talked about what an amazing experience it was.

Serena Williams and Ohanian cheer from the Los Angeles Golf Club owners’ box during a TGL match(Image: TGL Golf via Getty Images)

“So I think for that, having player buy-in, if the players are enthusiastic about it, then that will translate into the crowd or the media or whoever the audience is being enthusiastic about it as well. I think that was amazing and that the players really got into it and we were able to create a product that the players really liked.”

When asked what changes could be made moving forward, McIlroy said: “I think we could do better job with being a little more imaginative with the golf holes, like design golf holes that you would never be able to play in real life. I think that would be pretty cool, right?

“I think that something that we could do a better job of. I would say the putting surface needs looked that, like I think it’s much harder to hole putts on that TGL green than it is the hole putts on on a normal green. We could have a look at changing the putting surface maybe, as well.

“Apart from that, ESPN is happy. Sponsors are happy. The players are really bought into it, so as a first season has went, I think it’s went really, really well.”