The innovative golf league spearheaded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy — TGL presented by SoFi — is set to kick off on January 7, 2025, in prime time on ESPN and ESPN+, as announced by the league on Monday.
Initially slated to commence on January 9, 2024, the six-team tech-infused golf league faced a setback when a storm disrupted the power supply to the temporary and backup systems at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Consequently, the dome deflated and incurred damage, leading to a delay in the launch.
On Monday, the league unveiled plans for its new 250,000-square-foot venue. The league will face stiff competition upon its debut, as it will play matches on the first three Tuesdays of January — the NFL playoffs and College Football Playoff also take place during that time.
“As we plan the 2025 launch of TGL presented by SoFi, we now have the first three Tuesdays in January circled to introduce sports fans to this new form of team golf,” TMRW Sports founder and CEO Mike McCarley said in a statement. “January is a tremendous time of year for fans looking for prime time sports and TGL’s launch will complement the start of the PGA Tour season and take advantage of ESPN’s promotional machine across their coverage of the NFL and college football playoffs.”
Joined by Woods and McIlroy, a lineup of PGA Tour luminaries including Max Homa, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, and others have pledged their participation in the league. The matches will showcase three-man teams battling it out on a virtual course featuring authentic grass tee boxes and the innovative Green Zone, a 22,475-square-foot short-game facility that seamlessly transforms between holes.
TGL has also unveiled the match regulations, highlighted by a 40-second shot clock. Players failing to make their shot within the allotted time will incur a 1-stroke penalty. On-course and booth referees will oversee gameplay, with each team granted four timeouts, capped at two per session.
Representing six cities — Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Jupiter, Florida — the league will comprise six four-man teams that will be revealed at a later time.
