Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s rival LIV Golf league explained as rules announced

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have announced that their new golf league, TGL, will launch in January. The stadium-based circuit has provided details on the format of the 15-week competition.

As the circuit gets ready for its ground-breaking launch in January, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s novel golf league, TGL, has revealed its rules and structure.

After founding TMRW Sports with American media executive Mike McCarley, Woods and McIlroy revealed their plans for the league in the summer of last year. After the breakaway league was formed last summer, TGL was founded amid the threat posed by LIV Golf to the PGA Tour.

A whole host of the PGA Tour’s biggest names have signed on the dotted line with TGL, and are set to compete across six teams with both Woods and McIlroy included on the playing roster.

As well as the two founders, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Cam Young, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim and Billy Horschel have all committed to compete.

The six teams, each representing a distinct region of the United States, will share the 24 players. Two months remain until the competition starts, and Atlanta Drive GC, Boston Common Golf, Los Angeles Golf Club, TGL New York, and TGL San Francisco are the five teams that have already been confirmed.

Officials from the league announced the details of its inaugural season on Tuesday. It will comprise a regular season lasting 15 weeks, followed by semifinals and the championship game. Under the so-called “Modern Match Play” format, three players from each team will face off against one another.

In each match, the winner of each hole will earn one point, and the team with the most points prevails. A match will include two sessions, with session one including a ‘triples’ nine-hole three vs three foursomes match, and session two compiling of a ‘singles’ one-on-one clash over six holes, with each player playing two holes.

If matches are then tied in regulation play, overtime is played with a penalty shootout-style challenge competed with a team required to hit two shots closer to the hole than their rivals to secure a win. Teams are issued two points for a win and no points for a loss in regular play. An overtime loss earns a team one point.

The top four teams in the league will face off in the playoffs to determine who will win the 2023 championship after the 15-week season ends. Shots will be made into a simulator screen as the games are played in Palm Beach State College’s cutting-edge SoFi Center stadium.

Players will use fairways, rough, and sand bunkers in addition to grass tee boxes. Players will then remove themselves from the screen and compete on an internal green area known as the “green zone” if they make a shot that is within 50 yards. It comprises “three 15 by 27 foot Virtual Greens” in addition to a “3,800 square-foot tech-infused green.” TGL’s first season will premiere on January 9, 2024.