TGL presented by SoFi, the new team golf league backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports, has landed a broadcast deal with Fox Sports Australia.
The deal was announced Thursday as part of the league’s first three international media partners. Fox Sports in Australia, along with U-NEXT in Japan and JTBC/Phoenix Sports International in South Korea will broadcast the indoor simulator league from January 2025.
All three media partners are also PGA Tour rightsholders and will provide cohesive promotional platforms as both the tour’s 2025 season begins and the TGL launches next January.
“Golf is truly a global game and as we plan the launch of TGL presented by SoFi in 2025, we’re focused on expanding TGL’s global footprint,” said Mike McCarley, CEO and founder of TMRW Sports.
“We’re starting with media rights partnerships across three strong golf markets: Australia, Japan, and South Korea. We’re energised by the enthusiasm from these partners and the momentum we’re seeing in additional markets around the world.”
Additional media partners and markets will be added as the league approaches its delayed debut following extensive damage to the league’s arena in November forced a postponement to its scheduled January 2024 start.
According to a story in the Sports Business Journal, TMRW intends to construct a new SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, that will be buttressed by insulated steel walls and a steel-supported roof. The 14,000 square-metre venue will reportedly be able to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. The previous air-supported stadium was rated to withstand a Category 4 storm.
TGL presented by SoFi consists of six teams of PGA Tour superstars competing in a progressive, fast-paced form of team golf within the custom-built SoFi Center. TGL will launch on the first three Tuesdays of January 2025, starting with Tuesday, January 7 in primetime on ESPN and ESPN+ in the US.
TGL’s venue, SoFi Center, is an unprecedented, tech-infused arena for golf and will create an intimate and unique “greenside” fan experience with 1,500 seats wrapping around TGL’s field of play, which at nearly 100yards long and 50 yards wide is almost the size of a football field. Within TGL’s competitive matches, the integration of the league’s technology mix starts with teams teeing off in the ScreenZone from real grass tee boxes to play custom-designed, virtual holes projected onto a 3,000-square-foot screen (64’x46’), more than 20 times larger than a standard golf simulator screen (144 square feet, 16’x9’).
Once teams are inside approximately 50 yards they will transition to live action and finish each hole within TGL’s GreenZone, a 22,475-square-foot short game complex that transforms between holes. The GreenZone will use advanced technology to make each hole a unique challenge for the teams, including its 41-yard-wide turntable that rotates the green and three bunkers to change approach angles and using nearly 600 motorised actuators as part of Full Swing’s Virtual Green technology embedded under the synthetic putting surface to morph its topography.
TGL’s technology mix allows for every shot to be broadcast live, teams playing within a 40-second shot clock, all players being mic’d, delivery of advance shot data, and other broadcast enhancements. To learn more about TGL and the six teams, competitive format, and technology, visit TGL’s Explainer Page.
Team brands and community-building activities for TGL’s six inaugural teams will continue to be unveiled this year, as will the season schedule and other fan-centric elements. Each TGL team is comprised of four PGA Tour players and will have three players compete in each match:
Atlanta Drive GC: led by Arthur M. Blank, AMB Sports and Entertainment (Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, PGA TOUR Superstores).
Team Roster: Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, and Lucas Glover
Boston Common Golf: led by John Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, and Fenway Sports Group (Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, Pittsburgh Penguins, RFK Racing).
Team Roster: Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott and fourth team member to be announced.
Jupiter Links Golf Club: led by Tiger Woods’ TGR Ventures and David Blitzer (Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Cleveland Guardians, Washington Commanders, Crystal Palace FC, Real Salt Lake).
Team Roster: Tiger Woods and remaining roster to be announced.
Los Angeles Golf Club: led by Alexis Ohanian, Seven Seven Six, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams; as well as limited partners the Antetokounmpo brothers, Alex Morgan, Servando Carrasco, Michelle Wie West, and Tisha Alyn.
Team Roster: Tommy Fleetwood, Sahith Theegala, Collin Morikawa, and Justin Rose
New York Golf Club: led by Steven A. Cohen (New York Mets), Cohen Private Ventures. Team Name and Roster: Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Cameron Young.
TGL San Francisco: a group led by Avenue Sports Fund with Marc Lasry, Stephen Curry; as well as limited partners Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson.
Team Name and Roster: To be announced.
Additional Committed TGL Players: Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee, Shane Lowry, and Kevin Kisner.
