The owners of Liverpool FC, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), have purchased one of the team’s that will feature in Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TGL, which is due to start in January.
FSG, which is fronted by American businessmen John Henry and Tom Werner, has founded TGL Boston for the made-for-TV league, which will represent the Massachusetts city and New England region.
The news follows confirmation earlier in the month that TGL had sold the first of its six golf teams, Los Angeles Golf Club, to tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams and Reddit co-founder Alexis O’Hainen ahead of the debut of the tech-based league.
As well as being owners of the English Premier League club, FSG had other sporting interests before its foray into the upcoming venture. The group is also the parent company of Boston Red Sox baseball team and Pittsburgh Penguins ice hockey team.
The owners of the new team, which will release its official name and logo later in 2023, said: “We are excited for this new journey as one of the six inaugural TGL teams in honor of a city whose love and passion for sports is unparalleled.
“Through this new, tech-focused version of the game, New England sports fans will soon have a team of world-class PGA Tour players to cheer for and redefine for this community what it means to play the game in the modern era.
“We owe tremendous thanks to Tiger, Rory, and Mike [co-founder McCarley] for creating this innovative new league and allowing us to be present at its creation. We are excited to reveal more details later this summer and fall when we’ll unveil an official name and team members who will represent this great city and region.”
TGL is being launched via Woods and McIlroy’s media and technology company TMRW Sports, and McCarley explained why the link-up with FSG is such a good fit. He explained: “Fenway Sports Group has been a believer in TMRW Sports from our first conversations and it’s fitting to welcome them as the next TGL ownership group with their acquisition of the Boston team.
“Boston sports fans are well-known for their passion and commitment to their teams, no matter the sport. The team at FSG is uniquely positioned to help build an expanding community for fans of golf and embracing that audience is foundational to the Boston’s TGL team’s mission. Their deep experience in owning and operating championship-level teams across MLB, Premier League and NHL is a testament to their commitment to excellence.”
Several high-profile players have already signed up to TGL, which will bring team matches combining live action with digital technology to prime-time TV, including Adam Scott, Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, Billy Horschel and Max Homa.
The action will see the six teams of three compete in a 15-match regular season, followed by playoffs and then a championship match.
