When the new team-centric PGA Tour league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy launches early next year, those matches will air on the ESPN family of networks.
The network announced Thursday that they have secured a multi-year partnership to be the U.S. home of TGL matches on television. League programming will air across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+.
A preview show will air on Saturday, December 30 on ABC, with the inaugural TGL match taking place on January 9 at 9 p.m. and airing on ESPN and ESPN+.
This new league will feature six teams of three PGA Tour players in match play at the specially-built SoFi Center at Palm Beach State College in Florida. Matches will be played in a two-hour window. The regular season will consist of 15 matches with a semifinals and finals to determine a champion.
“TGL is going to be a two-hour presentation unlike anything you have seen before,” ESPN executive vice president of programming and acquisitions Rosalyn Durant said. “All players will wear live microphones and viewers will have unprecedented access during competition. It’s an exciting landscape for presenting golf and we look forward to bringing it to fans.”
“The two-hour match format has been designed for today’s sports fan, as it’s rooted in the traditions of golf, but adds technical elements that are unique to a modern, sports arena environment,” added Mike McCarley, founder and CEO of TMRW Sports. McCarley partnered with Woods and McIlroy to launch TGL.
Four of the six teams were also announced on Thursday. TGL will have teams representing Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles Golf Club, and New York.
Among the PGA Tour players that have committed to playing TGL matches so far include Woods and McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele, and Rickie Fowler.
