Wikipedia

TGL (golf league)

TGL is a planned golf league created by TMRW Sports,[a] a venture formed by sports executive Mike McCarley and professional golfers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in partnership with the PGA Tour. Its launch was delayed from 2024 to 2025, with events planned to be held on weeknights in conjunction with the PGA Tour schedule.[2]

TGL
SportGolf
FoundedAugust 24, 2022 (2022-08-24)
Founder
First season2025
CountryUnited States
Related
competitions		PGA Tour

History

edit

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][5]

Initial investors include NBA players Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant,[6] Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, soccer player Alex Morgan, MLB players Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout,[7] Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, tennis player Serena Williams, and WNBA player Diana Taurasi. Other investors include pop artist Justin Timberlake,[8] Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin,[9] and Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei.[10]

TGL was originally planned to launch in 2024. It was delayed until 2025 after the host arena under construction was damaged due to a power failure.[11][12] In October 2024, TGL later announced a revised launch date of January 7, 2025.[5][13]

Venue

edit

TMRW Sports is building the first TGL venue, the SoFi Center, in Palm Beach, Florida, through a partnership with Palm Beach State College.[14] The group broke ground at the venue on February 20, 2023.[15][16] The venue will include educational and recreational facilities.[17] Construction is being overseen by CAA Icon.[18] In November 2023, a power failure at the construction site caused the deflation of SoFi Center's air-supported roof, causing damage to portions of the structure.[11][12]

Teams

edit
Planned TGL teams
Team City Owner(s)
Atlanta Drive GC Atlanta, Georgia Arthur Blank[19]
Boston Common Golf Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Sports Group[20]
Jupiter Links Golf Club Jupiter, Florida Tiger Woods, David Blitzer[21]
Los Angeles Golf Club Los Angeles, California Alexis Ohanian, Venus Williams, Serena Williams[22]
New York Golf Club New York City, New York Steve Cohen[23]
The Bay Golf Club San Francisco, California Marc Lasry, Stephen Curry[24]

Broadcasting

edit

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.[25] On October 5, 2023, ESPN Inc. announced it had secured media rights for the league in a "multi-year" deal, with all matches airing on ESPN or ESPN2, and streaming on ESPN+.[26] Several of its matches will air as lead-outs for major events on ESPN, including its NFL Wild Card Game, and the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship, and a triple-header is scheduled for Presidents' Day.[13]

Roster

edit

Woods, McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm were the first four golfers to commit to compete in the league.[27] Twenty more players have since signed on leaving the roster set at twenty-four.[28][29]

Rahm withdrew from the league in November 2023,[30] shortly before joining LIV Golf. In January 2024, Tyrrell Hatton also joined LIV Golf after negotiating his exit from TGL.[31] In June 2024 it was announced that Hatton would be replaced by Hideki Matsuyama[32]

Footnotes

edit
  1. ^ "TMRW" is pronounced "tomorrow"[1]

References

edit
  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. ^ a b Lerner, Drew (October 22, 2024). "ESPN announces broadcast plans for TGL". Awful Announcing. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  6. ^ Novy-Williams, Eben (March 21, 2023). "Shaq, Durant, Dwyane Wade Invest in Tiger's TMRW Sports". Sportico.com. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  7. ^ Medow, Shawn (April 12, 2023). "Baseball star Trout joins TMRW Sports investment group". SportBusiness. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  8. ^ Schlabach, Mark (November 2, 2022). "Stars back Tiger-Rory tech-infused golf venture". ESPN. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  9. ^ Carpenter, Josh. "TMRW Sports adds Fanatics' Rubin to investor list". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  10. ^ "TMRW Sports: Expands investment group with Michael Rubin, Greg Maffei". The First Call Golf. April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Novy-Williams, Eben (November 20, 2023). "Tiger, Rory Delay TGL League Launch to 2025 After Facility Damaged". Sportico.com. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "TGL debut postponed to 2025 after host arena for Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy-led golf league suffers damage". CBS Sports. November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "TGL releases TV schedule, ticket info for Tiger Woods' virtual golf league". Golf. October 21, 2024. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  14. ^ "TGL signs SoFi as first commercial partner". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "Woods, McIlroy break ground on high-tech golf league site". Associated Press News. February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  17. ^ "Max Homa can enjoy time away with a rock-solid foundation". Associated Press News. December 13, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Woodard, Adam (August 21, 2023). "Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL takes shape with Atlanta as third team". Golfweek. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  20. ^ "Fenway Sports Group adds Boston team to TGL". ESPN. Reuters. June 26, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  21. ^ Schlabach, Mark (November 7, 2023). "Tiger headlines final ownership team for TGL". ESPN. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ Schlabach, Mark (September 7, 2023). "Mets' Cohen buys team in Woods-McIlroy's TGL". ESPN. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  24. ^ "San Francisco Confirmed as Fifth Team, Led by Marc Lasry & Stephen Curry". October 19, 2023.
  25. ^ "McCarley helps Woods, McIlroy launch tech-based venture TMRW Sports". Sports Business Journal. August 23, 2022.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ Herzig, Gabrielle (November 28, 2022). "Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm Join Tiger Woods' Monday Night Golf League". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  28. ^ Coffin, Jay (March 15, 2023). "Rickie Fowler commits to inaugural TGL season with Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy". Golf Digest. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  29. ^ "Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and Tom Kim join Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy's TGL". Golfweek. October 5, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  30. ^ Busbee, Jay (November 2, 2023). "Jon Rahm withdraws from Tiger Woods' new indoor golf league". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  31. ^ Rayson, Zac (January 30, 2024). "LIV lands $96m coup just before season opener as Ryder Cup star defects". Fox Sports. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  32. ^ Hoggard, Rex (June 18, 2024). "Hideki Matsuyama replaces Tyrrell Hatton on TGL's Boston team". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=TGL_(golf_league)&oldid=1252699283"