Get used to team golf folks, because it’s not going away anytime soon. In fact, it’s really only accelerating, as Tiger Woods’ forthcoming golf league, TGL, has made a bunch of announcements this week.
For starters, more players. TGL announced four new names to the fold on Thursday: Tommy Fleetwood, Tom Kim, Tyrrell Hatton and Shane Lowry, boosting its total of 2023 Ryder Cuppers from nine to 12. That means 16 out of 18 spots in the league’s first season are taken, leaving just two empty spots to be claimed.
Thus far, the 16 players are as follows:
Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Adam Scott, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Tom Kim, Shane Lowry
But the new names and faces were just the most recent update provided by the league on Thursday. They follow a television rights agreement with ESPN, which announced a multi-year partnership for TGL rights in the United States. As part of this announcement, TGL is scheduled to launch its season opener on Tuesday, January 9, one day after the College Football National Championship. The first game will air on ESPN in primetime that evening and will also air simultaneously on ESPN+. Many of the advances in the PGA Tour schedule over the past five years were made to avoid competing with soccer, the No. 1 sport in America. And while TGL isn’t interested in changing that, they are interested in using football to support their launch. Using the College Football Playoff as a starting point at the start of a new calendar year should help generate more interest in the emerging league.
Much remains to be seen – such as whether Woods will be healthy enough to participate, or whether separate rights deals will be in place for coverage outside the US – but in the coming days Initially, the tournament will at least take place adjacent to football. The second match will also take place in prime time, a week later in January. On January 16, the night after ESPN’s NFL Wildcard playoff game.
As for what golf will look like when fans tune in in January, we can expect 3-on-3 matches to be completed in just two hours. There will be 15 matches played throughout 2024 – believed to be a round-robin schedule, with each team playing each other once – followed by semi-finals and finals.
All games will be played at the recently announced SoFi Center, a still-under-construction arena named after the league’s founding sponsor, which will host nearly 2,000 fans in the games. match night. Spread out before their eyes – on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach, Florida. – will be a playground the size of a football field, with a 64’x46′ simulation screen. Players will play full shots on the screen against woods and most irons, then play actual straight shots in a short play area roughly the size of a basketball court. The players will also be given microphones.
So, what comes next? The league is just three months away from starting, but there’s a reason only virtual renderings have been shared to date. Its site is still very much under construction. The final two players, final two ownership groups and a full schedule of matches are expected within the next two months. ABC will air a league preview show on December 30 — oddly enough, Tiger Woods’ 48th birthday.