The new indoor golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy makes its long-awaited debut Tuesday night.
TGL, which unofficially stands for Tomorrow’s Golf League, will begin with a match between New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club—two of the league’s six four-player teams. ESPN will have the U.S. broadcast from the purpose-built SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Woods’s and McIlroy’s teams are not playing in the season opener, but the cofounders are expected to be in attendance, Front Office Sports has learned. Woods should make his debut next week when his Jupiter Links Golf Club plays Los Angeles Golf Club. And McIlroy’s likely will be Jan. 27, when his Boston Common Golf Club takes on Woods and Jupiter.
Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, and Matt Fitzpatrick are starting for New York on Tuesday night, and Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry, and Wyndham Clark for The Bay. Only three of a team’s four players compete in each match.
Golfers will hit tee shots and approaches into a simulator screen that’s 64 feet long and 53 feet wide, and shots from inside 50 yards at the 22,475-square-foot short game area, which includes a putting green that can transform hole-to-hole.
Worth the Wait?
It’s been a long journey for TGL, which was originally announced in 2022. It was supposed to debut last January, but that was delayed after a power failure resulted in the collapse of SoFi Center’s former air-supported dome. The 1,500-seat venue now has a steel-supported roof.
TGL falls under its parent company, TMRW Sports, which was valued at $500 million after a funding round in June. Along with Woods and McIlroy, former NBC Sports executive Mike McCarley, who previously led the Golf Channel, is also a cofounder and is the CEO.
The PGA Tour is also a partner in TGL. All 24 players are PGA Tour members, and LIV Golf players are not allowed. In 2023, Jon Rahm was committed to TGL but opted out shortly before he signed with LIV.
Lights, Camera, Action
ESPN’s multiyear media-rights deal will put TGL on its flagship channel some weeks and ESPN2 on others, with Scott Van Pelt, who annually broadcasts from the Masters and PGA Championship, leading the TV coverage.
“Tiger and I have been a part of this from Day One,” McIlroy said from SoFi Center on Saturday night during an interview with Van Pelt on ESPN at halftime of the Baltimore Ravens–Cleveland Browns game. “Whenever you see the concepts and the renderings, you’re like, ‘Yeah, that looks really cool.’ But until you actually see what they’ve been able to do—I think the scale is the thing that blows my mind every time I step in here.”
TGL’s matches will be played on Monday or Tuesday nights, so they won’t conflict with PGA Tour events. The regular season runs through March 4, followed by the playoffs later that month.
