World-renowned professional golfer Tiger Woods, who is tied for first in PGA Tour wins with the legendary Sam Snead, has been defending the PGA Tour since the launch of the new Saudi-funded LIV Golf tour, which is led by Australian golfer Greg Norman.
Woods, who reportedly turned down $800 million from the Saudi organization to join LIV Golf, holds one of the seats on the PGA Tour board which is attempting to negotiate a deal with LIV Golf. (The proposed merger of the two tours is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Congress.)
Rory McIlroy was on the PGA Tour’s board too, until he resigned on Tuesday. He cited “personal and professional commitments” as the reason.
When not dealing with LIV Golf, McIlroy and Woods are working on their new indoor golf league, TGL, in conjunction with the PGA Tour schedule. It’s a new three-versus-three golf league featuring six teams comprising top PGA Tour players. It will launch in January 2024 on ESPN.
The action from SoFi Center is officially coming to a TV near you!
— TGL (@TGL) October 5, 2023
TGL presented by @SoFi, featuring top @PGATOUR players competing in three-player, head-to-head match play, will launch on @espn and ESPN+ in prime time on Tuesday, January 9. Learn more: https://t.co/M7dokpsfee pic.twitter.com/fXTq5iEQgt
Jupiter Links Golf Club, with an ownership group led by Tiger Woods’ TGR Ventures and David Blitzer, was the sixth and final TGL team announced ahead of the inaugural season, which will be held at a virtual course in the SoFi Center in Palm Beach, Florida. The other teams are: Atlanta Drive GC, Boston Common Golf, Los Angeles Golf Club, TGL New York, and TGL San Francisco.
Note: Blitzer founded Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment with Josh Harris and is co-chairman and managing partner of its portfolio, highlighted by the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, and Joe Gibbs Racing.
Blitzer isn’t the only NBA investor involved in the new TGL league. A group led by Avenue Sports Fund with NBA champ Stephen Curry (as well as limited partners Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson) are behind TGL San Francisco, and the NBA’s Antetokounmpo brothers are invested in TGL Los Angeles.
Next on the tee, representing Jupiter, FL: Jupiter Links Golf Club!
— TGL (@TGL) November 7, 2023
Our sixth and final team ownership group is led by @TigerWoods and David Blitzer… and Tiger himself is the first player on the team’s roster. 🔥
Learn more: https://t.co/ARYqmYG55Z pic.twitter.com/hULlmWfl0y
Note: McIlroy is playing for Boston Common Golf. The other three players on Tiger’s Jupiter club team have yet to be announced.
For its inaugural season, TGL’s 15 regular season matches will be followed by semifinals and finals matches, and will broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+ in the U.S.
