ATLANTA –
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy bring their own version of team golf to the PGA Tour.
A day after Woods and McIlroy announced a new media company called TMRW Sports, they unveiled a project on Wednesday that will see 18 players compete in a series of games that involve both technology and shooting.
It’s called “TGL,” a high-tech golf league played in a purpose-built stadium where fans can watch teams of three compete in an 18-hole match – with simulators for the long shots, live shots for the shorter ones – it only takes two hours.
The league is scheduled to start in January 2024 and will feature 15 Monday night regular season games, followed by the semifinals and finals.
“For the fans, imagine you’re sitting courtside at an NBA game. It’s that kind of environment – music, player performances. As a fan, you’re always at the forefront,” said Mike McCarley, past president of The Golf Channel, who co-founded TMRW Sports with Woods and McIlroy and is its CEO. “You see how everything is happening in front of you.”
TMRW Sports – pronounced “tomorrow” – was founded to build technology-driven projects with a progressive approach to sports, entertainment and media.
Investors include Dick Ebersol, the retired chairman of NBC Sports, whose many contributions to sports on television include Sunday Night Football. He worked with McCarley at NBC.
“Since retiring I’ve turned down any real work other than giving advice to many friends, but this is the right idea at the right time with one of the few people I would do that with,” Ebersol said.
The announcement lacked many details, including a broadcast partner who felt NBC was a likely candidate given its relationship with the PGA Tour and with Ebersol and McCarley. Additionally, McIlroy has a deal with the “GolfPass” venture in association with Golf Channel.
Still to be determined is the 18 players across the six teams and when the games will be played, although a majority will be upscale events week, which was also announced on Wednesday for the new PGA Tour schedule that begins next year.
“As a huge sports fan, I’m excited to blend golf with technology and team elements common to other sports,” Woods said in a statement. “We all know what it’s like to be in a soccer stadium or basketball arena where you can see every game, every minute of the action, right in front of you. This is something that is not possible in traditional golf.”
Woods was previously involved in real golf on Monday night when he was part of “Showdown at Sherwood” and “Battle at Bighorn.” That faded within a decade, although the Monday night spot is attractive on the January-August sports calendar.
Woods has only played three times this year – all majors – as he recovers from leg injuries sustained in a car accident in February 2021. But he will play in the TGL and doesn’t have to run far.
“We don’t know what his schedule will be. We don’t know how his body will be,” McIlroy said. “But to see him still show off his skills in prime time on TV with no real wear and tear on his body, to see Tiger make golf shots and still give people a glimpse of his genius, I think it’s a really good use of his time.”