Legendary professional golfers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are launching a new professional golf league in partnership with the PGA Tour as the tour faces increasing competition from Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
Woods and McIlroy’s TMRW Sports announced Wednesday the creation of TGL, a new “tech-infused golf league” that will feature teams of professional golfers that compete on a “custom-built venue in primetime on Monday nights.”
The high-tech league will consist of six teams of three PGA Tour players that hit shots onto a virtual screen before moving to a “state-of-the-art short game complex.”
The new league will be comprised of 15 regular season matches starting in January 2024 followed by a playoff tournament.
The league was created with the intent of trying to attract a broader audience to the sport by reaching younger audiences.
“TGL is the next evolution within professional golf, and I am committed to helping lead it into the future,” Woods said in a statement. “Embracing technology to create this unique environment gives us the ability to move our sport into primetime on a consistent basis alongside so many of sports’ biggest events. As a big sports fan myself, I’m excited about blending golf with technology and team elements common in other sports. We all know what it’s like to be in a football stadium or a basketball arena where you can watch every play, every minute of action unfold right in front of you. It’s something that inherently isn’t possible in traditional golf — and an aspect of TGL that will set it apart and appeal to a new generation of fans.”
“I have the utmost respect for the game of golf, and the TGL, while rooted in the traditions of the game, is taking a bold step into the increasingly tech-fueled future of sports,” McIlroy said. “TGL will tap into the appeal of team golf within an exciting, fan-friendly environment, comparable to sitting courtside at an NBA game. TGL will widen the appeal of golf to younger and more diverse fans and serve as another avenue to introduce people to the game I love.”
The new golf league comes as the PGA Tour competes against LIV Golf, founded by two-time major winner Greg Norman, which Woods has campaigned hard against.
LIV Golf responded to the creation of the new league with a 17-word statement, saying, “LIV Golf is clearly the best thing that’s ever happened to help the careers of professional golfers.”
Source: Dailywire
