(Reuters) – Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have agreed to participate in a Monday night “tech-infused golf league” featuring six teams of three PGA Tour players competing at a custom-built venue starting in January 2024, TMRW Sports announced on Wednesday.
The league, which will be run in partnership with the PGA Tour, was billed as a first-of-its-kind experience for golf as each two-hour event will be held on “a data-rich, virtual course complete with a tech-infused, short-game complex.
The announcement of TGL comes a day after Woods and McIlroy, two of the game’s biggest stars, announced the launch of TMRW Sports as a company that will aim to use technology as a way to cultivate a younger golf audience.
Organizers promise a high-energy, greenside fan experience for the short-form version of golf in a coliseum environment with every shot to be shown live on primetime television.
“We all know what it’s like to be in a football stadium or a basketball arena where you can watch every play, every minute of action unfold right in front of you,” Woods, a 15-times major champion, said in a news release.
“It’s something that inherently isn’t possible in traditional golf — and an aspect of TGL that will set it apart and appeal to a new generation of fans.”
No other players have yet been announced as participants for the inaugural season, which will consist of a 15-match regular season followed by semi-finals and finals matches.
“TGL will tap into the appeal of team golf within an exciting, fan-friendly environment, comparable to sitting courtside at an NBA game,” said four-times major winner and world number four McIlroy.
“TGL will widen the appeal of golf to younger and more diverse fans and serve as another avenue to introduce people to the game I love.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
