What Is TGL? Tiger Woods’ New Golf League
The "tech-infused" TGL launches in 2024 where six teams of four will take part in a 15-event series of made-for-TV matches
![Tiger Woods during the second round of the Genesis Invitational](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/HUKNtth4sNoGkmEmJVd6oX-415-80.jpg)
Ever since Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy announced their tech-focused golf league in August 2022, there has been intrigue over precisely what it will entail.
In the months that have followed, information has been revealed intermittently to the point where we now know everything from most of the roster for the 2024 season, details of its stadium, the simulator that will be used and its format.
When the TGL was launched, Woods and McIlroy both spoke of taking the game into the future for the next generation of PGA Tour pros and all the signs are that it will begin to deliver on that ambition when it gets underway on 9 January.
Here are the key things to know about the TGL.
What is the TGL?
The TGL will be a tech-rich golf league that aims to reach more people and get them engaged with the game. This will be achieved by the use of state-of-the-art technology including a 64 feet by 46 feet simulator developed by Full Swing and a short-game complex featuring three virtual greens and 3,800 square feet of putting space.
The league is being launched in partnership with the PGA Tour from a custom-built stadium, the Sofi Center, at Palm Beach State College in Florida, which features real grass and a screen 20x bigger than normal simulators.
What Is The TGL Format?
Each week two of the six teams will compete over 15 holes. Only three of the four players on each team will play on a week-by-week basis.
Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
The 15 holes will be divided into two sessions – nine holes of Triples (3 vs 3 alternate shot) and six holes of Singles featuring a rotating head-to-head.
The Triples session will see the three selected players on each team alternate who tees off a hole, with players rotating the shots thereafter.
With the Singles session, six holes will be played. On the first hole of the session, a player from one team takes on one opponent until it is completed. Then the action moves to the next hole, with the following player in a team taking on the next from the opposing team, before the third hole features the final players from each team.
Overall, each player faces the same opponent over two holes until the six Singles holes are completed.
One point is up for grabs on each hole, and the team with the fewest shots on a hole wins the point. Ties are worth zero points and there are no carryovers.
If the teams are tied after the completion of the 15 holes, players will compete in an “overtime tiebreaker.” This will involve a 3-on-3 closest-to-the-pin competition which will be played until one of the two teams hits two shots closer to the pin their their opponent.
A win in either regulation or overtime earns a team two points, while a loss in overtime sees that team win one point - a similar system to the NHL. However, any team losing in regulation walks away from the two hours of action empty handed.
When Does The TGL Start?
The TGL season will begin on Tuesday 9 January 2024, with coverage of ESPN and ESPN+. The first match will be broadcast at 9pm ET (2am GMT) with the second at 7pm ET (midnight GMT).
The action is scheduled to take place over two hours in front of a live audience.
Which Players Are In The TGL?
After confirmation that co-founders Woods and McIlroy would compete in the TGL, additional signings were slowly added to the roster before the final five TGL signings were announced in October 2023. Since then, one player, Jon Rahm, has pulled out of the debut TGL season, meaning 23 out of the 24 players are confirmed.
Below is the list as it stands.
Matt Fitzpatrick is one of the TGL's highest-profile signings
- Tiger Woods
- Rory McIlroy
- Justin Thomas
- Rickie Fowler
- Collin Morikawa
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- Justin Rose
- Xander Schauffele
- Max Homa
- Adam Scott
- Billy Horschel
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Shane Lowry
- Tom Kim
- Keegan Bradley
- Sahith Theegala
- Cameron Young
- Patrick Cantlay
- Wyndham Clark
- Min Woo Lee
- Kevin Kisner
- Lucas Glover
What Are The TGL Teams?
Six teams of four will be in the TGL, with each named after a geographical location in the US. Justin Thomas was the first player to be confirmed to a TGL team. He will play for Atlanta Drive GC. Soon after that announcement, Collin Morikawa was confirmed as a Los Angeles GC player, with the line-up for the Boston Common coming next, comprising co-founder McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott and Tyrrell Hatton.
Here are the five confirmed teams:
- Atlanta Drive GC
- Boston Common GC
- Los Angeles GC
- TGL New York
- TGL San Francisco
Justin Thomas will play for Atlanta Drive GC
What Does TGL Stand For?
There's no official confirmation on this and it is known as TGL in all communications. We'd simply assume it stands for 'TMRW Golf League' after TMRW Sports, the company - also co-founded by Woods and McIlroy - that created it.
What Is TMRW Sports?
TMRW (pronounced 'Tomorrow') Sports is a business founded in 2022 by 15-time Major winner Woods, four-time Major Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley, who was an NBC Sports executive for over 20 years.
The company is "focused on building technology-focused ventures that feature progressive approaches to sports, media, and entertainment."
TMRW Sports has attracted some big-name investors, including tennis stars Serena Williams and Andy Murray, former Real Madrid footballer Gareth Bale, musician and actor Justin Timberlake, NFL quarterback Josh Allen, and NBA basketball players including four-time NBA champions Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala, Chris Paul and Jayson Tatum. Los Angeles Dodgers baseball star Trea Turner and ice hockey's three-time Stanley Cup champion Sidney Crosby have also invested.
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
-
How One UK Golfer Defied The Odds To Set A New World Record...
The incredible story of how Steven Dashevsky broke the world record for playing one round of golf on all six continents in the shortest period of time
By Mark Townsend Published
-
Watch The Bizarre Moment Tour Pro Has Air Shot On Putt
2016 Senior Open champion Paul Broadhurst had a costly lapse of concentration in the opening round of this year's Major at Carnoustie
By Mike Hall Published
-
Bryson DeChambeau ‘Wouldn’t Put It Past’ Tiger Woods To Win Another Major
The US Open champion has defended Tiger Woods amid his recent poor form at Majors and calls for him to retire
By Mike Hall Published
-
Tiger Woods Shows Leg Injury For First Time Since Near-Fatal Car Crash
The 15-time Major champion admitted he could have lost his leg after a near-fatal car accident in 2021 - with Woods baring the extent of the injury for the first time at the 2024 US Junior Amateur
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Charlie Woods Off To Disappointing Start At US Junior Amateur
Woods shot a 12-over-par opening round with dad Tiger watching on at Oakland Hills to leave himself lots of work to do to make the knockout stages
By Elliott Heath Published
-
Tiger Woods Flies To Michigan To Support Son Charlie At US Junior Amateur
The 15-time Major winner missed the cut at The Open in Scotland and quickly flew back to America to support his son
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Rory McIlroy Reacts To First Open Missed Cut In Five Years
The four-time Major winner struggled yet again on Friday, as McIlroy stuttered to a four-over-par round of 75 to miss the cut comfortably at Royal Troon
By Matt Cradock Published
-
9 Big Names To Miss The Cut At The 2024 Open
A number of box office names are heading home early after missing the cut at Royal Troon
By Elliott Heath Published
-
Tiger Woods Confirms Next Start Ahead Of 'Fifth Major' With Son Charlie
Woods won't play again until December, he confirmed to media after his missed cut at Royal Troon
By Elliott Heath Published
-
Tiger Woods Falls To Third Consecutive Major Missed Cut At The Open
It was a week to forget for Woods, as rounds of 79 and 77 meant the three-time Claret Jug winner finished well outside the cut line at Royal Troon
By Matt Cradock Published