After a one-year delay, the long-awaited maiden season of the innovative golf league TGL will launch at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens next Tuesday evening.
Co-founded by two of golf’s biggest names in Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, the indoor-based league will see 24 PGA Tour players split into six teams, with matches taking place on a weekly basis over the coming months. Those competing will get the chance to take part in a never-seen-before league in the golfing world.
And with competition of course comes prize money, with a report from Golf Monthly suggesting that a total prize pot of $21 million will be on offer, with the winning team at the end of the season taking a cool $9 million.
- Keegan Bradley backs up unlikely Ryder Cup plan which could cause major problem for Team USA
- Major champion sends three-word Tiger Woods demand to PGA Tour bosses
Ahead of next week’s eagerly-anticipated launch, TGL has revealed the lineups for the opening match, which will see New York Golf Club take on The Bay Golf Club. Representing New York in week one are Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, and Matt Fitzpatrick, with Cam Young on the sidelines.
The Bay meanwhile have decided to have Min Woo Lee sit out the opener, with Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, and Shane Lowry taking to the simulator, with the latter hitting the league’s first-ever shot. One man who is as excited as anyone for the launch is Lowry’s teammate Clark.
Providing an insight into the TGL setup, Clark told Mirror US Sports last month: “It was crazy. To see it in person is so different than seeing it on a phone or via social media. I walked in, they kind of did a simulated walk-up song, you walk through the tunnel, they’re explaining what it’s going to be like and then you walk out and you look.
TGL’s matches will be played at SoFi Center in Florida (
TGL)
“The best example I could give you is I felt like an NBA player or an NFL player walking out in the stadium for the first time, and everyone’s looking at you, and you’re just center stage. And then obviously seeing the massive simulator and the green and it’s amazing.
“You get to see the best players in the world play and hit shots that you get to see all the time on TV, right? The full shots are very much what you see in normal golf. And the great thing is you’ll see the data right then and there. So I’ll be leaning on a driver and hopefully getting up to 190 ball speed. And you get to see all the technology and the numbers, which is really cool.
“If you look at it as it’s golf, but inside, so it’s almost a totally different sport. Don’t think of it as your normal PGA Tour event, think of it as something fun where you get to see Tiger Woods hit tons of shots and trash talk other players and be put under pressure with a shot clock and playing for a team and all those things.
“I just think it’s such an awesome experience. I think both watching in-person and TV should be amazing.” Whilst Clark and co will be involved in match one, golf fans will have to wait a little longer to see Woods’ debut. His Jupiter Links team will play in week two when they take on Los Angeles Golf Club.
Leave a Reply