A rendering of the proposed TGL venue. Graphic: Courtesy of TMRW Sports
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TMRW Sports, a tech-focused company set to launch a virtual golf league in 2024, announced its first round of investors on Wednesday.
Driving the news: Among the 50+ high-profile investors were 26 active or retired athletes, along with a handful of team owners.
- Athletes include Steph Curry, Alex Morgan, Josh Allen, Lewis Hamilton, Serena Williams, Shohei Ohtani and Sidney Crosby.
- Owners include Arthur Blank (Falcons), John Henry (Red Sox) and David Blitzer (76ers, Devils, et al).
What they're saying: "There was ... a clear vision [among investors] for how technology can really help make sports more accessible and culturally relevant to new groups of fans," said Mike McCarley, TMRW's co-founder and CEO, who is also president of the Golf Channel.
Between the lines: TMRW's only tangible plan at the moment is TGL, a virtual golf league set to launch in partnership with the PGA Tour in January 2024.
- Format: 15 regular-season matches and playoffs, with each match lasting just two hours and airing on Monday nights in primetime.
- Venue: The planned facility (see rendering above) will combine virtual (longer shots) and real golf (an actual green for chipping and putting).
- Teams: Six teams of three PGA Tour golfers are expected to compete, but Woods and McIlroy are the only two confirmed so far.
State of play: TGL was one of many announcements made on the eve of this summer's Tour Championship, all part of the PGA Tour's ongoing battle with LIV Golf.
The backdrop: The intersection of golf and technology has been fertile ground for investors recently.
- McIlroy himself invested $10 million last year in Drive Shack, a Topgolf competitor, as the latter has continued growing rapidly.
- Puttshack, a tech-infused mini golf experience from Topgolf's founders, received $150 million in growth capital from BlackRock last month.