Boston Red Sox president Tom Werner and owner John Henry speak to the media during spring training at the Player Development Center on February 19, 2018.
Matt Stone | Media News Group | Getty Images
Another sports mogul has joined the ranks of ownership of the golf league developed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Fenway Sports Group, owned and operated by John Henry and Tom Werner, will be the second of six teams to join TGL, the premier-time golf League, which will start playing in January.
“We are excited about this new journey,” Henry and Werner said in a statement on Monday. “With this new, technology-focused version of the game, New England sports fans will soon have a team of world-class PGA Tour players cheering on the community and redefining playing the game in the modern era. meaning of movement.”
Fenway Sports Group owns several major sports franchises, including Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC and the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins. The FSG team is the second team announced by TGL. On June 8, the company announced that Reddit co-founders Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams and Venus Williams had become owners of a team in Los Angeles.
Mike McCarley, co-founder of TMRW Sports, which controls TGL, said, “The FSG team is uniquely positioned to help build a growing community of golf enthusiasts, and embracing the audience is fundamental to the Boston TGL team’s mission. “
TGL’s development comes at a pivotal time in the big-money world of professional golf. Woods, McIlroy and McCarley partnered with the PGA Tour last year to create the TMRW Sports Group (pronounced “tomorrow”). At the time, it was seen as a response to the Saudi-backed LIV golf union, which was embroiled in a bitter legal battle with the PGA Tour.
This month, however, the PGA Tour and LIV agreed to combine business interests to form a new company.McIlroy is one of LIV’s biggest public critics, reports Woods turned down a huge offer Join a Saudi-funded league.
Rory McIlroy shakes hands with Tiger Woods on the 18th green after completing a practice round ahead of the 2023 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, April 3, 2023.
Christian Petersen | Getty Images
TGL will now try to use cutting-edge technology in a prime-time game that blends physical and virtual golf to appeal to a new, younger demographic.
The league will feature six teams, each consisting of three PGA Tour players, going head-to-head in match play. Arena in Palm Beach, Florida. The league has not yet announced a broadcast deal because negotiations are ongoing. The decision is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.
The star power of Woods and McIlroy has attracted some big names, including Justin Thomas, John Rahm, Colin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler.
TGL has not disclosed how much money it has raised. However, it has attracted a number of big-name athletes as investors, including basketball greats Shaquille O’Neal, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant; Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton; women’s soccer star Alex Morgan ; and professional football players Tony Romo and Josh Allen. Some professional sports team owners have also invested.
