ATLANTA — A new tech-infused golf league backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy won’t start next year as originally planned.
The TGL announced on Monday that the league will now begin play in 2025 after construction issues last week in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
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Officials said the dome of its arena deflated after a temporary power system failed. No one was injured, but the dome was damaged, leaving the league without a place to play starting in January.
“Following discussions with key partners, including players, our six team ownership groups, PGA TOUR leadership and our commercial partners, SoFi, ESPN and Palm Beach State College, the decision has been made to postpone the start of the TGL season until early 2025. This decision came after reviewing short-term solutions, potential construction timelines, player schedules, and the primetime sports television calendar,” the league wrote in a statement.
“Despite this new timeline for the venue, we remain excited about the future of TGL and will continue to build excitement between now and the start of the season with our players, fans and teams. We have begun to update plans and timelines and are confident that the extension will only improve our delivery.”
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How does the TGL work? The indoor golf league will have six teams with PGA Tour players. They will compete in 15 regular season matches on Monday nights followed by semifinals and final matches. The competitions inside an arena will combine physical and virtual golf with a focus on technology and fan engagement.
The league was supposed to debut on Jan. 9 on ESPN. Atlanta sports mogul Arthur Blank owns one of the six teams Atlanta Drive GC, which just last month announced that Two-time PGA Championship winner and 2017 FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas would join the team.
On Monday, Blank said Atlanta remains committed to TGL and looks forward to growing the game of golf when TGL premieres in 2025.
“While this delay has slowed us down for a moment, I’ve always believed challenges present a tremendous opportunity. I’m confident this pause will allow TGL to present an even more compelling product, the teams to build stronger brands and audiences in our markets and partners more time to plan strong fan engagement programs,” Blank said. “We’ll spend the year doing that with Atlanta Drive GC, while cheering for Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, and Lucas Glover as we all get ready to push for a TGL championship in 2025.”
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