TGL, the virtual, interactive golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, is back on track for its official January 2025 launch after overcoming a one-year postponement when the roof of its original building collapsed last November due to a power outage and wind storm.
The final piece of the puzzle is the construction of a new permanent arena on the south Florida campus of Palm Beach State College. The TMRW Sports Group, which owns TGL, received official approval in March for the venue – which will seat 1,500 spectators.
“Once we have all teams and rosters finalized, I think people will start to learn more about our competition, technology and format,” Woods told the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. “It’s starting to feel real and I couldn’t be more excited for January.”
TGL, which unofficially stands for Tomorrow’s Golf League, is a new tech-infused golf league that will partner with the PGA Tour. The idea behind it is to combine the latest in golf technology with in-person competition.
TGL’s format is designed to, in Woods’ words, “bring a fresh, modern, and fast-paced twist to the game we all love so much.” It will include a shot clock, timeouts, and both team and individual match play.
The league will be comprised of six teams, with four players on each team for the inaugural 2025 season.
The league is scheduled to launch Jan. 7 with matches held once a week. The plan is for each team to play five matches followed by playoffs.
Is Tiger Woods playing in TGL?
Tiger Woods will be joined by Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner on the Jupiter Links GC team, which was announced April 22.
“I have three guys on my team that I enjoy being around, that I know are going to work hard and grind as team members, can talk a little trash and will have a great time,” Woods told the Palm Beach Post in an email Q&A.
TGL’s six teams
Atlanta Drive GC — Owner: Arthur M. Blank. Roster: Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, Lucas Glover.
Boston Common Golf — Owners: John Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, Fenway Sports Group. Roster: Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott, player to be announced.
Jupiter Links Golf Club — Owner: Woods’ TGR Ventures, David Blitzer: Roster: Tiger Woods, Max Homa, Tom Kim, Kevin Kisner.
Los Angeles Golf Club — Owners: Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams, Venus Williams; and limited partners Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brothers, Alex Morgan, Servando Carrasco, Michelle Wie West, Tisha Alyn. Roster: Tommy Fleetwood, Sahith Theegala, Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose.
New York Golf Club — Owner: Steven Cohen. Roster: Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young, Matthew Fitzpatrick.
TGL San Francisco — Owners: Marc Lasry, Stephen Curry along with limited partners Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson. Team name and roster to be announced.
What is the TGL format?
Players will compete head-to-head in 18-hole match play on a field that is 97 yards long and 50 yards wide.
Golfers will start from real grass tee boxes to play custom-designed, virtual holes projected onto a 3,000-square-foot screen. 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 will be transformed to resemble different holes.
The teams will have three of the four players on their rosters competing in each match.
Will TGL matches be televised?
TGL will play its first three matches the first three Tuesdays in January, debuting Jan. 7, 2025.
TGL’s Week 2 match is the night following an NFL “Monday Night Football” wild-card playoff game, and the Week 3 match is the night after the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
The primetime matches will be televised by ESPN.
The remainder of the schedule has not yet been revealed.
Current major eligibility list for all LIV Golf players
This week, the PGA of America published its eligibility criteria for the 2024 PGA Championship, meaning the pathways into the remaining men’s majors for this season are all confirmed.
After 13 LIV golfers teed it up at Augusta National (with a best finish of T-6 from Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau), fewer of the league’s members are in line for spots at Valhalla next month, depending on how many players secure invitations based on the world ranking (traditionally, while not a formal criteria, the PGA of America has invited top 100 players not otherwise exempt, and a few LIV players sit on this bubble).
While LIV players remain eligible for majors, no governing bodies to date have offered a direct pathway through performance on LIV, meaning qualification is difficult for those without previously existing exemptions.
To that end, two big streaks are on the line as the PGA approaches:
Patrick Reed has played in 40 straight major championships, but is not yet formally exempt into the PGA. He entered the Masters ranked 112th in the world, and finished T-12 to jump inside the top 90, upping his chances at an invitation based on his world rank. The last major contested without Reed in the field was the 2013 PGA.
Also of note, two-time major champion Dustin Johnson is entering the final year of his five-year exemption into the PGA through his 2020 Masters win. Johnson will be competing in his 15th PGA and has had several close calls having finished runner-up twice (2019, 2020) and tied for fifth in 2010 at Whistling Straits after a two-shot penalty on the 72nd hole cost him a spot in a playoff with Bubba Watson and eventual champion Martin Kaymer.
This post, courtesy the Golf Channel research department, tracks future major eligibility for all 55 players who have made a LIV start in 2024 (the 52 players assigned to a team plus the three individuals who have competed so far). Updates will be made as necessary throughout the spring:
Past major champions with full major access (6)
Bryson DeChambeau (Won 2020 U.S. Open)
- U.S. Open through 2030
- Masters, PGA, The Open through 2025
Dustin Johnson (Won 2016 U.S. Open; 2020 Masters)
- Masters for life
- U.S. Open through 2026
- The Open through 2025
- PGA through 2024
Brooks Koepka (Won 2017 and 2018 U.S. Open; 2018, 2019 and 2023 PGA Championship)
- PGA for life
- Masters, U.S. Open through 2028
- The Open through 2027
Phil Mickelson (Won 2004, 2006 and 2010 Masters; 2005 and 2021 PGA Championship; 2013 Open)
- Masters, PGA for life
- The Open through 2030 (when he will be 60 years old)
- U.S. Open through 2025
Jon Rahm (Won 2021 U.S. Open; 2023 Masters)
- Masters for life
- U.S. Open through 2031
- PGA, The Open through 2027
Cameron Smith (Won 2022 Open)
- The Open until age 60
- Masters, PGA, U.S. Open through 2027
Past major champions with some major access (7)
Sergio Garcia (Won 2017 Masters)
- Masters for life
Martin Kaymer (Won 2010 PGA Championship; 2014 U.S. Open)
- PGA for life
- U.S. Open through 2024
Louis Oosthuizen (Won 2010 Open)
- The Open until age 60
Patrick Reed (Won 2018 Masters)
- Masters for life
Charl Schwartzel (Won 2011 Masters)
- Masters for life
Henrik Stenson (Won 2016 Open)
- The Open until age 60
Bubba Watson (Won 2012 and 2014 Masters)
- Masters for life
Past major champ whose exemptions have expired (1)
Graeme McDowell (Won 2010 U.S. Open)
Note: McDowell’s last major appearance came in 2020. The champion exemption for the U.S. Open is 10 years – by far the least favorable exemption for a past major champ. The Masters and PGA are “for life,” while The Open allows past champs to play until age 55 (reduced from age 60 starting in 2024 for all future Open champions).
Left for LIV in 2024 with exemptions already sealed (2)
Tyrrell Hatton
- 2024 Masters: Qualified for 2023 Tour Championship; OWGR top 50 at the end of 2023
- 2024 PGA: Finished T-15 in 2023 PGA
- 2024 U.S. Open: Qualified for 2023 Tour Championship
- 2024 Open: Top 30 in 2023 Race to Dubai and FedExCup standings
Adrian Meronk
- 2024 Masters: OWGR top 50 at the end of 2023
- 2024 U.S. Open: Top 2, not otherwise exempt, from 2023 Race to Dubai
- 2024 Open: Top 30 in 2023 Race to Dubai standings
Note: Meronk, hovering around 60th in the world right now, is likely to gain entry into the PGA Championship as well.
Exemption(s) earned while on LIV through non-OWGR based criteria (3)
Dean Burmester
- 2024 Open: Won Joburg Open on DP World Tour in Nov. 2023 (part of Open Qualifying Series)
Joaquin Niemann
- 2024 Masters: Special invitation
- 2024 PGA: Special invitation
- 2024 Open: Won ISPS Handa Australian Open on DP World Tour in Dec. 2023 (part of Open Qualifying Series)
David Puig
- 2024 Open: Won IRS Prima Malaysian Open on DP World Tour in Feb. 2024 (part of Open Qualifying Series)
Not currently exempt into any majors, but favorable positioning on certain criteria (2)
Lucas Herbert
- 2024 PGA: Likely via traditional OWGR top 100 pathway; ranked 84th as of this post
Andy Ogletree
- 2024 PGA and Open: Likely via OWGR International Federation Ranking (currently 2nd; top 3 are exempt into 2024 PGA and top 5 are exempt into 2024 Open)
Not currently exempt into any majors, slim prospects outside of open qualifying (34)
- Abraham Ancer
- Richard Bland
- Laurie Canter
- Paul Casey
- Eugenio Chacarra
- Talor Gooch
- Branden Grace
- Sam Horsfield
- Charles Howell III
- Matt Jones
- Anthony Kim
- Jason Kokrak
- Jinichiro Kozuma
- Anirban Lahiri
- Danny Lee
- Marc Leishman
- Sebastian Munoz
- Kevin Na
- Carlos Ortiz
- Mito Pereira
- Pat Perez
- Thomas Pieters
- Ian Poulter
- Kalle Samooja
- Brendan Steele
- Caleb Surratt
- Hudson Swafford
- Cameron Tringale
- Peter Uihlein
- Harold Varner III
- Kieran Vincent
- Scott Vincent
- Lee Westwood
- Matthew Wolff
