The PGA Tour has given the green light to Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s new tech-forward venture which is set to launch in 2024 in the form of the TGL as the fightback against LIV Golf continues.
The announcement follows Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan’s bombshell press conference Wednesday morning where he revealed some immediate changes in a bid to keep players on the PGA Tour, in the face of some of the world’s top players defecting to the new Saudi-backed LIV tour.
The 15-match regular season series will kick start in January 2024 and will feature six teams of PGA Tour players facing off three-vs-three to make it to the semifinals and finals.
However, fans will see their favorite stars in an unfamiliar setting as each two-hour event will take place on ‘a data-rich, virtual course complete with a tech-infused, short-game complex’ in a stadium rather than the lush fairways the pros are used to playing.
Every live shot within the two hours will be shown live on primetime television, however a broadcaster is yet to be announced.
Golfweek did report last week that broadcast and gaming partners are reportedly being discussed with NBC Sports touted as a potential media partner.
The TGL will be launched by the TMRW Sports company, which was announced by the star duo on Tuesday, in partnership with the PGA Tour.
The 15-time Major champion and Northern Irishman are naturally the first players to have signed up to the TGL.
Tiger Woods (right) and Rory McIlroy (left) will launch their tech-forward stadium series, the TGL, in January 2024 as the fightback against Saudi-funded LIV Golf continues
Woods said: ‘TGL is the next evolution within professional golf, and I am committed to helping lead it into the future. Embracing technology to create this unique environment gives us the ability to move our sport into primetime on a consistent basis alongside so many of sports’ biggest events.
As a big sports fan myself, I’m excited about blending golf with technology and team elements common in other sports. 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.
‘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.’
Four-time Major winner McIlroy added: ‘I have the utmost respect for the game of golf, and the TGL, while rooted in the traditions of the game, is taking a bold step into the increasingly tech-fueled future of sports. T
‘GL will tap into the appeal of team golf within an exciting, fan-friendly environment, comparable to sitting courtside at an NBA game. 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.’
The project has reportedly been two years in the making for Woods and McIlroy and it, along with their shared anti-LIV stance, is said to have brought them together.
The pair launched their TMRW Sports company earlier this week in an aim to use technology as a way to cultivate a younger golf audience and is said to be partnering with the PGA Tour in some capacity.
Woods and McIlroy arranged an informal meeting of players to discuss countering LIV Golf during last month’s JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor in Ireland before a follow-up meeting last week.
The plan was shared with their fellow professionals during the crunch players-only meeting held in Wilmington, Delaware on August 16, which was believed to be organized in response to the ongoing LIV Golf threat.
The idea was pitched to their peers as a long-term opportunity for players to build equity in the enterprise, which will have private funding in addition to corporate partnerships and sponsors.
All 23 players, including 20 of the world’s top 30, are said to have left unanimous in their support of the plan proposed during the meeting, which was invitation only.
The proposal was passed on to Tour chief Monahan who has almost immediately given it the green light along with other changes which he announced Wednesday.
In a three-page letter sent to players on Wednesday, it was revealed that there will now be a minimum salary of $500,000 for all players on the PGA Tour, a new average purse of $20million to keep pace with LIV, and immediate lifetime membership for players when they reach 20 wins – rather than the initial 15 years needed.
The PGA Tour has also elevated four more events to the 2023 FedEx Cup Regular Season, on top of the eight they announced in June, with an average prize pot of $20 million.
While the letter made no mention of LIV Golf, it is widely accepted that the changes come in the face of the breakaway series stealing away a number of top players.
In fact, some of the changes are things the likes of Mickelson have campaigned for for years, leaving many to wonder how the defected players will view them, and the timing of them.
The PGA Tour’s ‘Player Impact Program’ will also now reward 20 players and the payout has been doubled from $50m to $100m – effective with the 2022 final standings.
LIV Golf has already managed to lure away some of the PGA Tour’s biggest names, such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, with mega-money deals.
However, Woods and McIlroy have remained loyal to the PGA with the former reportedly rejecting an $800 million offer to join the rebel series.
More to follow.
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