TGL explained: All you need to know about Woods and McIlroy’s new golf league
A year later than planned, golf will get a glimpse of its possible future when the first match of TGL, the brand new, made-for-TV team golf competition from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports, swings into virtual action on Tuesday.
The contest between New York Golf Club, featuring Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele, and The Bay Golf Club, who boast Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry and Wyndham Clark, represents the public’s first look at TGL.
McIlroy has hailed it as “golf, but reimagined” for the 21st century in a bid to attract new fans to the sport. Here is all you need to know about TGL.
TGL teams and players
TGL features six teams of four players, headlined by Tiger Woods’s Jupiter Links Golf Club and Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf.
Other teams are linked to LA, starring English pair Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose, and Atlanta, which has an all-American line-up headed by Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay.
All players are drawn from the PGA Tour due to a partnership with the US circuit, so while Hideki Matsuyama, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Keegan Bradley are involved there is no place for LIV Golf stars such as Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith.
Where is TGL played?
All of the action is taking place in the SoFi Center, a purpose-built arena in Florida featuring the world’s most sophisticated golf simulator.
Players will take shots at a 3,400 sq ft screen from real grass, rough or sand until they near the pin, at which point play switches to a “green zone” whose topography and layout is mechanically adjusted for each of the 30 custom holes.
The SoFi Center – not to be confused with the SoFi Stadium in LA – can also accommodate 1,500 spectators, although TGL has been conceived for TV and will be shown on Sky Sports in the UK.
TGL’s first season was postponed last year after damage to the venue’s inflatable roof.
TGL format
The six teams will all play each other on Mondays and Tuesdays over the next two months, followed by playoffs and a championship final.
TGL matches are three-v-three affairs divided into nine holes of alternate shot play and then six holes of singles, with a point for each hole.
In the event of a tie, the match goes into overtime and is settled by a nearest-the-pin contest.
Other features include players wearing mics, a shot clock, time outs, referees and the option to double the points on offer at a given hole.
TGL has a total prize pot of £16.8m, with the winning team set to receive £7.9m.
Who owns TGL?
TGL, which stands for Tomorrow Golf League, was created by TMRW Sports, a company set up by McIlroy, Woods and former ESPN executive Mike McCarley in 2022.
Financial backers of TMRW Sports include TGL team owners such as Serena Williams and Fenway Sports Group, majority shareholders of Liverpool FC, and institutional investors Dynasty Equity and Connect Ventures.
Dozens of sports stars and celebrities also have stakes, including Andy Murray, Lewis Hamilton, Shohei Ohtani, Shaquille O’Neal, Justin Bieber, DJ Khaled and Justin Timberlake.