TGL (golf league)

TGL is a planned golf league created by TMRW Sports,[lower-alpha 1] a venture formed by sports executive Mike McCarley and professional golfers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, in partnership with the PGA Tour. It will launch in January 2024, with events held on weeknights in conjunction with the PGA Tour schedule.[2]

TGL
SportGolf
FoundedAugust 24, 2022 (2022-08-24)
FounderTMRW Sports (Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Mike McCarley)
Inaugural season2024
CountryUnited States
Related
competitions		PGA Tour

History

On August 24, 2022, the PGA Tour, along with Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley, announced the formation of TGL.[3] It will initially feature six teams of three PGA Tour players, competing head-to-head in 18-hole match play on a virtual course with a special short game area. Fifteen matches, each lasting two hours and played in primetime on Monday and Tuesday nights, will make up the regular season. The semi-finals and a final match will be held at the end of the season.[4]

Venue

TMRW Sports is building the first TGL venue, the SoFi Center, in Palm Beach, Florida, through a partnership with Palm Beach State College.[5] The group broke ground at the venue on February 20, 2023.[6][7] The venue will include educational and recreational facilities.[8] Construction is being overseen by CAA Icon.[9]

Investors

Investors include many high-profile sportspeople, including NBA players Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant,[10] Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, women's soccer player Alex Morgan, MLB players Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout,[11] Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, tennis player Serena Williams, and women's basketball player Diana Taurasi. Other investors include entertainer Justin Timberlake,[12] Fanatics Founder and CEO Michael Rubin [13] and Greg Maffei, President and CEO of Liberty Media. [14]

Teams

TGL will feature six teams representing six geographical locations.

Team City Owner(s)
Los Angeles Golf Club Los Angeles Alexis Ohanian (lead investor); Venus Williams; Serena Williams[15]
TGL Boston Boston Fenway Sports Group[16]
Atlanta Drive GC [17] Atlanta Arthur Blank[18]
TGL New York New York City Steve Cohen[19]
TGL San Francisco San Francisco Marc Lasry; Stephen Curry[20]

Broadcasting

No broadcaster for TGL was announced during the league's unveiling. An August 2022 report by Sports Business Journal indicated that NBC Sports had an option to carry league events.[21] However, on October 5, 2023, ESPN Inc. announced it had secured media rights for the league, a "multi-year partnership" that will see the league's first two matches airing January 9 and January 16, 2024 on ESPN (a preview show on ABC will precede them on December 30, 2023). Matches will air on ESPN or ESPN2 and be simulcast on the ESPN+ streaming service.[22][1]

Roster

Woods, McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm were the first four golfers to commit to compete in the league.[23] Twenty more players have since signed on leaving the roster set at twenty-four.[24][25]

Footnotes
  1. "TMRW" is pronounced "tomorrow"[1]

References
  1. Hall, Andy (October 5, 2023). "ESPN Acquires TGL U.S. Media Rights; TGL Presented by SoFi to be Seen Exclusively on ESPN Platforms". ESPN Press Room (Press release). ESPN Inc. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  2. Hoggard, Rex (August 24, 2022). "Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy headline new technology-centric golf league". Golf Channel. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  3. "Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TMRW Sports announces TGL, a new tech-infused golf league in partnership with the PGA Tour". PGA Tour. August 24, 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  4. "Woods, McIlroy behind tech-infused golf league in TV venture". Associated Press News. August 24, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  5. "TGL signs SoFi as first commercial partner". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  6. D'Angelo, Tom (February 21, 2023). "Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy help break ground on TGL venue at Palm Beach State College". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  7. "Woods, McIlroy break ground on high-tech golf league site". Associated Press News. February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  8. "Max Homa can enjoy time away with a rock-solid foundation". Associated Press News. December 13, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  9. McCormick, Bret (January 23, 2023). "TMRW's 18-hole TGL will be part simulator, part reality and a one-of-a-kind event". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  10. Novy-Williams, Eben (March 21, 2023). "Shaq, Durant, Dwyane Wade Invest in Tiger's TMRW Sports". Sportico.com. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  11. Medow, Shawn (April 12, 2023). "Baseball star Trout joins TMRW Sports investment group". SportBusiness. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  12. Schlabach, Mark (November 2, 2022). "Stars back Tiger-Rory tech-infused golf venture". ESPN. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  13. Carpenter, Josh. "TMRW Sports adds Fanatics' Rubin to investor list". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  14. "TMRW Sports: Expands investment group with Michael Rubin, Greg Maffei". The First Call Golf. April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  15. McDonald, Patrick (June 8, 2023). "Los Angeles Golf Club becomes first TGL team with Serena Williams, Venus Williams as co-owners". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  16. "Fenway Sports Group adds Boston team to TGL". ESPN. Reuters. June 26, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  17. https://www.tglgolf.com/atlantadrivegc
  18. Woodard, Adam (August 21, 2023). "Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL takes shape with Atlanta as third team". Golfweek. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  19. Schlabach, Mark (September 7, 2023). "Mets' Cohen buys team in Woods-McIlroy's TGL". ESPN. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  20. date=2023-10-19 |title=San Francisco Confirmed as Fifth Team, Led by Marc Lasry & Stephen Curry |https://tglgolf.com/articles/2023/10/san-francisco-confirmed-as-latest-team-to-join-tgl
  21. "McCarley helps Woods, McIlroy launch tech-based venture TMRW Sports". Sports Business Journal. August 23, 2022.
  22. Weprin, Alex (October 5, 2023). "ESPN Nabs Tiger Woods' TGL Golf League Rights, Plans Jan. 9 Launch in U.S." The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  23. Herzig, Gabrielle (November 28, 2022). "Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm Join Tiger Woods' Monday Night Golf League". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  24. Coffin, Jay (March 15, 2023). "Rickie Fowler commits to inaugural TGL season with Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy". Golf Digest. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  25. "Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and Tom Kim join Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy's TGL". Golfweek. October 5, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
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