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The highly-anticipated launch of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s new golf league has been delayed until 2025.
TGL, the virtual competition originally announced last year, was scheduled to debut on Jan. 9 with primetime matches on ESPN and ESPN 2 throughout the winter and early spring. But last week, the league’s new South Florida venue — SoFi Center — had a power failure that resulted in the collapse of its air-supported dome.
After assessing the damage, TGL has decided to push back its launch by at least a year — likely to the same January-March time frame in 2025.
The league’s media rights deal with ESPN — which was set to deliver the new-age golf competition to a different audience than most of the sport’s broadcasts — appears to be a key factor in the decision to delay the launch a full year, rather than by weeks or months. ESPN had carved out primetime broadcasts windows for TGL that likely wouldn’t be as widely available later this year.
The network expressed its full support for the new 2025 launch date.
Body Blow
The unfortunate news for TGL temporarily kills what had been some serious momentum for the new golf league.
Beyond the support of co-founders Woods and McIlroy, TGL had signed up many top PGA Tour pros like Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, and Collin Morikawa. Jon Rahm, the No. 3-ranked golfer in the world, initially committed to TGL’s first season before pulling out. It remains to be seen how the year-long delay will impact TGL’s roster.
A superstar-packed list of team owners also gave TGL mainstream credibility. Representatives from all six groups have expressed their support for the league’s launch in 2025.
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