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Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's high-tech indoor golf league has officially launched.
TGL had its first match at its dedicated SoFi Center on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Florida on January 7, with The Bay Golf Club eventually defeating New York Golf Club 9-2. Its live prime-time telecast on ESPN averaged 919,000 viewers, according to the network.
A team-oriented league is a creation TMRW Sportsa company founded by Woods, McIlroy and former NBC Sports executive Mike McCarley. It was developed in collaboration with PGA Tour.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 7: Rory McIlroy of Boston Common Golf and Tiger Woods of Jupiter Links Golf Club look on before the TGL Presented SoFi match between New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club at the SoFi Center on January 7, (Mike Ehrmann/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images/Getty Images)
During the league's launch process, TGL selected a number of well-known partners, including luxury automaker Genesis, consulting firm Businessolver, and consumer electronics retailer Best Buy as “founding partners”. According to a recent press release, it has a total of a dozen official partners.
His matches “feature three players competing on each team in a two-hour team golf competitionwhich offers a fresh approach to the sport with a focus on technology, innovation and fan engagement,” TGL explained on its website. Two of the league's six teams go head-to-head in the match.
The TGL regular season consists of 15 games, all played indoors at the So-Fi Center, named after the digital finance company that signed a multi-year deal as its current sponsor.
The campus covers an area of nearly 250,000 square feet. Inside, the competitors – all the big names in golf – play their way through 15 holes in a high-tech space “about the size of a football field” that includes a “ScreenZone” and a “GreenZone”.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 7: A fan cheers in the stands during play on the ninth hole during the TGL presented by SoFi match between New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club at the SoFi Center on January 7, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens (Mike Ehrmann/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Massive Simulator screen 64 x 53 feet the created Full Swing plays a key role in the match in “ScreenZone.”
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 07: Shane Lowry of The Bay Golf Club tees off on the seventh hole during their TGL SoFi match against New York Golf Club at the SoFi Center on January 7, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. . (Ph (Mike Ehrmann/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the “GreenZone” serves as a dedicated short game area with a massive turning green that uses hundreds of drivers to “change the slope of the green, creating variety of play on every hole,” TGL said.
The league uses a nine-hole triples and six-hole singles format. About 1,500 people can watch the SoFi Center in person from seats around the green, according to the high-tech golf league.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JANUARY 7: A general view of New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club players on the green during their TGL presented by SoFi Match at the SoFi Center on January 7, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo: Cliff Hawk (Cliff Hawkins/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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TGL's inaugural season was scheduled to be played in 2024. However, in November 2023, “a failure of the temporary power system and backup systems caused the dome to blow out” and resulted in some damage, prompting the league to change the start to this year. TGL press release from the time.
Now with one match under their belt, the TGL will host the remainder of their regular season matches over the next few months, followed by a two-round postseason. The team that wins the championship will receive $9 million of the total $21 million in prize money for the season, according to Golf.com.
The six four-man teams include Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank's Atlanta Drive GC; Avenue Sports Fund and NBA star Stephen Curry's The Bay Golf Club; Fenway Sports Group's Boston Common Golf; TGR Ventures and entrepreneur David Blitzer's Jupiter Links Golf Club; Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and former tennis star Serena Venus Williams at Los Angeles Golf Club; and hedge fund founder Steven Cohen's New York Golf Club, according to TGL.
THE COMPANY'S GOAL IS TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE OUTDATED WOMEN'S GOLF INDUSTRY
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