It's been a long time since Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy announced their tech-focused golf league in August 2022, but TGL will finally get under way in January 2025.
We've had a delay of a year as the TGL was due to kick-off in January 2024 only for the arena that will host the contest to suffer severe damage after a power failure.
With the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida now up and running, we can prepare for the inaugural season of TGL, which will be played on a huge new simulator.
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 7 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 real life 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.
Play on the 15 specifically designed holes will take place on the simulator for tee shots and approach play, before transferring to the real-life green areas to finish off.
All players will be mic'd up during the matches, while there is a 40-second shot clock for every shot, each times has four timeouts per match and there's even a referee in charge of the acion.
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.
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 on each 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 than 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.
How to watch the 2025 TGL on TV
The TGL season will begin on Tuesday 7 January 2025, with coverage of ESPN and ESPN+. The first match will be broadcast at 7pm ET (midnight GMT).
TGL will also be shown in Canada on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, on Fox Sports Australia, U-NEXT in Japan and JTBC Golf Channel in Korea.
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 rosters with most TGL signings announced in October 2023.
Since then, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton pulled out after joining LIV Golf, with Hideki Matsuyama and Ludvig Aberg coming in to complete the 24-man line-up.
Half of the field have won a Major while there are plenty of PGA Tour and worldwide victories on their collective resumes - which should make for some quality golf.
- Tiger Woods
- Rory McIlroy
- Justin Thomas
- Rickie Fowler
- Collin Morikawa
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- Justin Rose
- Xander Schauffele
- Max Homa
- Adam Scott
- Billy Horschel
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Shane Lowry
- Tom Kim
- Keegan Bradley
- Sahith Theegala
- Cameron Young
- Patrick Cantlay
- Wyndham Clark
- Min Woo Lee
- Kevin Kisner
- Lucas Glover
- Ludvig Aberg
What Are The TGL Teams?
Six teams of four will play in the TGL, each representing an area from right across the United States.
Justin Thomas was the first player to be confirmed to a TGL team when he signed up to play for Atlanta Drive GC.
Rory McIlroy and New England native Keegan Bradley lead the line-up for Boston Common, while TGL co-founder Tiger Woods leads Jupiter Links.
Collin Morikawa was confirmed as a Los Angeles GC player alongside English pair Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, with Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele playing for New York.
Shane Lowry and Ludvig Aberg are part of an eclectic team representing The Bay for the San Francisco area. The full teams are as follows.
-
Atlanta Drive GC
Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, Lucas Glover -
Boston Common Golf
Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama -
Jupiter Links GC
Tiger Woods, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Kevin Kisner -
Los Angeles Golf Club
Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, Tommy Fleetwood -
New York Golf Club
Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young -
The Bay Golf Club
Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Aberg, Min Woo Lee
What is the 2025 TGL schedule?
- All times ET
- Match 1 – New York Golf Club vs The Bay Golf Club – Tuesday 7 January, 7pm, ESPN
- Match 2 – Los Angeles Golf Club vs Jupiter Links Golf Club – Tuesday 14 January, 7pm ESPN
- Match 3 – New York Golf Club vs Atlanta Drive GC – Tuesday 21 January, 7pm, ESPN
- Match 4 – Jupiter Links Golf Club vs Boston Common Golf – Monday 27 January, 6.30pm, ESPN
- Match 5 – Boston Common Golf vs. Los Angeles Golf Club – Tuesday 4 February, 9pm ESPN
- Matches 6-8 – Presidents’ Day Tripleheader – Monday 17 February, 1pm, (ESPN), 4pm, (ESPN), 7pm, (ESPN2)
- Match 9 – Jupiter Links Golf Club vs New York Golf Club - Tuesday 18 February, 7pm, (ESPN)
- Matches 10-12 – Monday 24 February, 5pm (ESPN2), 9 pm (ESPN2) and Tuesday, 25 February, 9pm, (ESPN)
- Matches 13-15 – Monday, 3 March, 3pm, (ESPN2), 7pm, (ESPN2), and Tuesday 4 March 4, 7pm, (ESPN)
- Semifinals – Monday 17 March, 7pm(ESPN2) & Tuesday 18 March, 7pm (ESPN)
- Finals Series – Monday 24 March (ESPN2) & Tuesday 25 March (ESPN)
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.
