Rory McIlroy believes the TGL, which begins in January, will offer a better example of how to incorporate team competition than LIV Golf.
The four-time Major winner is a co-founder of the tech-infused contest along with Tiger Woods, and he spoke to the media to promote a GolfPass docuseries, unCOMMON: Building a Boston Sports Team, focused on his team, Boston Common Golf.
He explained that the connection of the six teams to geographical areas will help fans relate to the franchises. He said: “I think that's what TGL has done maybe a little bit better to connect with certain fan bases than, say, LIV, for example."
LIV Golf has placed a huge emphasis on its own team aspect, with 13 line-ups of four competing in each regular event in a team competition alongside a simultaneous individual strokeplay contest.
However, there are doubts over whether the format will gain the necessary traction, with many golf fans more invested in the individual battles among the 54 players.
Meanwhile, the format has also been criticized by key figures within the game, including Ernie Els, who claimed it isn’t “proper golf,” and Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, who described it as “laughable.”
LIV Golf’s team names are also not associated with particular regions and, according to McIlroy, that could be to the TGL’s advantage.
He added: "Team golf has been around since 1927 in the professional game, you go back to a Ryder Cup. But I think the one thing what TGL has done a good job of is trying to locate the different teams in cities or geographies where you can really plug into the wider sports fans of that city."
As well as McIlroy’s team, TGL will also have teams linked to Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Florida, in some cases with players associated with those areas.
That includes McIlroy's team, which includes Keegan Bradley, who has strong links to the area. He added: "Everyone knowing the intensity in which Boston fans support their teams, trying to plug into that. Plugging into the Red Sox fans and obviously everyone else … the Celtics or the Bruins or the Patriots, I think that to me at least gives you a connection to something, which is great.
Keegan Bradley will play for Boston Common Golf
"We've got Keegan who is from that area so he is so proud to be playing for a Boston sports team. We have that in our favor as well.”
McIlroy also believes there is room in the schedule for another golf contest and that TGL won’t take anything away from the regular season. He said: "There's only so much golf we can all play. I see this as being complementary to everything else that is going on in the world of golf.
"I'm still a traditionalist in a lot of ways. There's no replicating championship golf. That's always going to be around. But there are certain things we can do to innovate and appeal to a younger demographic.”
TGL begins on 7 January with coverage on ESPN when New York Golf Club faces The Bay Golf Club. Boston Common Golf makes its debut on 27 January against Woods’s Jupiter Links Golf Club.
