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The American owners of Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox are expanding into golf and preparing to join a new technology-driven league owned by stars Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Fenway Sports Group will become the second owner of TGL after acquiring the Boston franchise, the new tournament will launch early next year, the Fenway Sports Group said Monday. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and his wife, tennis superstar Serena Williams, bought their first team earlier this month — Los Angeles Golf Club.
TGL is majority-owned by TMRW Sports, an investment vehicle jointly controlled by golf’s two giants, Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but FSG will take a 3% stake in TGL as part of the deal.
With TGL, Woods and McIlroy hope to create a fresh take on the historic game of golf, with the aim of expanding interest in the game. The concept involves six teams of three top players competing on simulators within an arena. The contest will run for two hours and air in prime time in the United States.
The aim is to take ideas from the Indian Premier League and Formula 1, and compress the game into a format that is accessible to a new, younger audience.
“I think you’ll find that this format suits people who follow golf occasionally but also love traditional team sports. Ultimately they’re going to be golf lovers.” Mike McCarley, CEO and Co-Founder, TMRW Sports Said.
The PGA Tour owns 18 percent of TGL, with each team owner receiving 3 percent and participating golfers sharing 10 percent. A number of top players have already signed to the program, including Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele.
“The idea is really timely. It’s a fusion of live action and technology. In this day and age, as many people play simulated golf as there are green golf,” FSG chairman Tom Werner told the Financial Times. Werner and FSG founder John Henry are already investors in TMRW Sports.
Both Woods and McIlroy have been outspoken critics of LIV, the Saudi-backed rebel tour that offers high pay to lure players away from the PGA Tour. The launch of LIV last summer, also based on the idea of golf as a team sport, sparked bitter divisions within the sport.
However, the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced plans earlier this month to combine commercial operations and cease legal hostilities. The agreement stunned the golf world, with the PGA Tour scrambling to appease players — many of whom turned down LIV’s lucrative offer.
McCully said the idea for the TGL predates the launch of LIV, and the recent agreement between the PGA Tour and PIF doesn’t change any of the league’s plans.
TMRW Sports has attracted a long list of celebrity supporters, including F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, footballer Gareth Bale and singer Justin Timberlake. Its investors also include big names in sports finance, such as Blackstone executive David Blitzer.