ap photo Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, listens to a question during a press conference at East Lake Golf Club prior to the start of the Tour Championship golf tournament Wednesday in Atlanta, Ga.
ATLANTA — Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are bringing their own version of team golf to the PGA Tour.
A day after Woods and McIlroy announced a new media venture called TMRW Sports, they unveiled a project Wednesday that involves 18 players competing in a series of matches featuring technology as much as shot-making.
It’s called “TGL,” a tech-infused golf league that will be held in a stadium built for the occasion where fans can watch three-man teams compete in an 18-hole match — using simulators for the long shots, live shots for the shorter ones — that will take only two hours.
The league is to start in January 2024 and feature 15 regular-season matches on Monday nights, followed by the semifinals and the finals.
“For the fans, think sitting courtside at an NBA game. It’s that type of environment — music, player introductions. You’re right on top of the action as a fan,” said Mike McCarley, the former Golf Channel president who formed TMRW Sports with Woods and McIlroy and is its CEO. “You see everything play out in front of you.”
TMRW Sports — pronounced “tomorrow” — was formed to build technology-focused projects with a progressive approach to sports, entertainment and media.
Among the investors is Dick Ebersol, the retired chairman of NBC Sports whose many contributions to sports on TV include Sunday Night Football. He worked with McCarley at NBC.
“Since I’ve retired, I’ve refused any real work besides giving advice for plenty of friends, but this is the right idea at the right time with one of the few people I would do this with,” Ebersol said.
The announcement was lacking many details, including a broadcast partner, thought NBC is a likely candidate given its relationship with the PGA Tour and with Ebersol and McCarley. Also, McIlroy has a deal with the “GolfPass” venture in conjunction with the Golf Channel.
Still to be determined are the 18 players on the six teams and when the matches will be held, although a majority figure to be the week of elevated events also announced Wednesday for the new PGA Tour schedule that starts next year.
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