Everything you need to know about Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s new tech-infused team golf league.
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s new tech-infused TGL featuring some of the game’s biggest PGA Tour stars will kick off in January 2025.
TGL was supposed to be starting up on January 9, 2024, but that is no longer the case after the league’s stadium roof at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, collapsed as a result of a power failure, according to officials.
The incident happened on November 14, 2023, and thankfully nobody was injured.
According to reports, it was not possible to push TGL back just a couple of weeks or even months in 2024 due to ESPN not being able to adjust to the shift in the schedule.
What is the TGL?
The TGL is a new tech-inspired golf league that has been launched in partnership with the PGA Tour to provide golf fans with a new way to watch the game they love.
Devised by Woods and McIlroy, the new league will take place in a state-of-the-art purpose-built facility, giving up to 2,000 fans the chance to spectate up close and personal thanks to a huge virtual simulator and short-game complex.
The league will give golf fans the opportunity to watch the best players in the world compete against each other in a team-based format that promises to be a “high-tech, high-energy fan experience.”
The league was established in 2022 and revealed alongside a number of additional incentives to persuade the best players in the world to remain on the PGA Tour.
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods
What is the format?
Each TGL match will consist of 15 holes broken down into two sessions.
The first session will see three players from each team take alternative shots from holes one to nine.
The second session will see one player from each team going head-to-head for two holes each, from holes 10 to 15.
Each hole is worth one point, and the team that takes the fewest shots to complete the hole wins the point.
Ties are worth zero points, and in a tied match, the winning team will be decided by a three-vs.-three closest-to-the-pin competition.
League Format
TGL will use a points-based system, where the winning team secures two points for a win and one point for a loss in overtime.
A loss in regular team earns the losing team zero points.
The regular season will feature each team playing the other teams once (5 regular season matches total per team).
Postseason
The top four teams in the standings will advance to the playoffs, featuring single elimination semifinals and a “best-of-three” championship series.
When is it?
The TGL season will kick off in January 2025, with the first game scheduled for 7 January.
The second match is scheduled for January 14th, and the third is set for 21 January.
The regular season will feature each team playing the other teams once (five regular season matches total per team), as well as a semi-final and final.
Tiger and Rory
Tiger and Rory
Which golfers are taking part?
As things stand, 23 players have officially signed up to take part in the TGL. The star-studded roster has a combined 218 PGA Tour wins, 31 major wins and 834 weeks at No.1. Headlined by the founders Woods and McIlroy, the roster is packed full of a whole host of the most exciting players in the world.
As things stand, Boston Common is the only team which hasn’t yet filled its four man roster.
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton were initially in the lineup but have decided to withdraw from the league since joining LIV Golf.
While four players will make up each team, on game nights, only three will be selected to play.
The TGL will be made up of seven teams.
They are:
Los Angeles Golf Club
Collin Morikawa
Sahith Theegala
Tommy Fleetwood
Justin Rose
Boston Common Golf
Rory McIlroy
Keegan Bradley
Adam Scott
Atlanta Drive GC
Patrick Cantlay
Justin Thomas
Lucas Glover
Billy Horschel
New York Golf Club
Matt Fitzpatrick
Xander Schauffele
Rickie Fowler
Cameron Young
The Bay Golf Club
Mon Woo Lee
Shane Lowry
Ludvig Aberg
Wyndham Clark
Jupiter Links Golf Club
Tiger Woods
Tom Kim
Kevin Kisner
Max Homa
Where is it being played?
The TGL season will be hosted at So-Fi Center, a purpose-built venue in Florida that will host 2,000 fans on match nights during the season.
The centre boasts a giant simulator screen that measures 64 feet high by 46 feet across, roughly 20 times the size of a standard simulator screen.
The screen will be powered by Full Swing technology, and alongside it, the centre will also have a short-game area that includes three sand bunkers and three individual 15 feet x 27 feet virtual greens within a massive 3,800 square-foot putting surface.
How can you watch it?
TGL is set to be broadcast in the United States on ESPN and ESPN’s streaming service ESPN+.
Broadcasting rights in the UK are yet to be announced
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