Miami (AFP) – Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy unveil their futuristic Tomorrow’s Golf League on Tuesday, hoping the tech-infused competition will capture the imagination of tour pros and a new global fan base.
“This is what we’ve been shooting for,” 15-time major champion Woods said last month as he looked forward to the competition debut, which was delayed by a year after a roof collapse at the SoFi Center venue in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. “We’re trying to bring a new demographic to this game of golf, and it’s going to be exciting,” Woods said, adding he was “blown away at the amount of moving parts there is to this.”
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“As a showcase, it’s going to be unbelievable on TV,” Woods said. “I hope that we can invigorate the game because it definitely needs it right now.” McIlroy, speaking to TGL’s US broadcaster ESPN, called the venture “golf, but reimagined.” “Sort of trying to take golf into the 21st century,” McIlroy said. “We have teams. Obviously, there’s a lot of technology involved, trying to bring it into the digital era.”
“A lot of things that we’ve taken from other sports, like a shot clock, a timeout, things that you don’t see in regular golf…trying to appeal to that bigger sports audience out there.” It’s no accident that the league, which will feature 24 US PGA Tour players divided into six teams competing once a week over several months, was announced as the game grappled with the global rift between the upstart LIV Golf circuit and the established US and European tours.
While the rhetoric has calmed, plans to actually bring the warring factions back together remain stalled. Woods and McIlroy, along with ESPN, British broadcaster Sky Sports, and a string of heavyweight investors are hoping the combination of golf skill and technical innovation on display will prove a winning combination for fans.
– Fun fan experience –
The 250,000 square-foot SoFi Center arena, with a seating capacity of 1,500, will feature a raft of innovations. Players will hit into a massive simulator screen from areas of actual mown grass, rough, or even sand. A short game area that transforms between holes can rotate the green to change approach angles and alter its topography.
“The rotating green blew me away,” Woods said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for not just us but also for the fan experience.” Each four-man team will select three players to compete per match. All three will team for nine holes of alternate shot, followed by six holes of singles with each golfer playing two holes. Four teams advance to the playoffs with a title series in March. The winning team earns $9 million.
Tuesday’s opener will feature Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Xander Schauffele of the New York Golf Club taking on Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark, and Ludvig Aberg of the Bay Golf Club. Woods’s Jupiter Links team is slated for action against Los Angeles Golf Club in week two.
Clark, the 2023 US Open champion, said the fast-paced format — designed to have the matches finish in two hours — could be a drawing card to new fans, and the indoor venue will make players seem more accessible. “The challenge with golf is that people are farther away, but this is really intimate,” he said. “People are going to see our personalities.”
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