Launch: Rory McIlroy talking to reporters on Wednesday
(Picture: Getty Images)Golf — but not as we know it. Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have launched a new ‘tech-infused league’ backed by the PGA Tour, as the sport’s power struggle over the LIV breakaway goes on.
The pair, who have been outspoken critics of the Saudi-funded rebel circuit, have unveiled plans for a stadium-based competition, which will see players hit tee-shots and approaches into a screen on a virtual course, before playing out the remainder of the hole in a custom-built area inside the arena.
The league, set to begin in 2024, will feature six teams of three PGA Tour players competing across a series of Monday night matches, culminating in a semi-final and final, with a full 18 holes taking just two hours to complete.
It hopes to replicate the NBA’s “courtside” atmosphere and will be screened live on television in the US, where it will go up against the NFL’s showpiece Monday Night Football fixture.
The series, called TGL, will be run by TMRW Sports, the company launched by McIlroy and Woods earlier this week with the aim of using technology to cultivate a younger audience for the sport.
“We all know what it’s like to be in a football stadium or a basketball arena where you can watch every play, every minute of action unfold right in front of you,” Woods said.
“It’s something that inherently isn’t possible in traditional golf and an aspect of TGL that will set it apart and appeal to a new generation of fans.”
It is the latest development in the ongoing battle between golf’s existing hierarchy and the LIV circuit.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced yesterday that 12 leading events would be moved to “elevated” status and have their prize money increased to an average purse of $20million, matching the rival venture.
