What TGL executive has said is their long term ‘idea’ after Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy left out of opening week

Add as preferred source on Google

TGL has almost arrived, with many people uncertain over how successful the Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy venture will be.

Justin Thomas is very excited for TGL, with the tournament set to get underway in Florida on 7 January 2025.

Having initially aimed at a January 2024 launch, the virtual competition was delayed after the SoFi Center’s dome roof collapsed due to a power outage.

New York GC versus The Bay GC kicks off the tournament, which will feature six squads of four players each.

But TGL has taken a big risk by leaving Woods and McIlroy out of the opening week, where the likes of Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark will feature instead.

TGL executive’s long-term plan after Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy omission

Woods will make his TGL debut on 14 January for Jupiter Links GC, with McIlroy then playing on 27 January for Boston Common GC.

It is, however, not an issue for Rex Hoggard, who said on Golf Channel: “It’s not [an own goal]. I remember having this conversation with an executive from TGL more than a year ago.

“Keep in mind this got started a year late because of the building collapsing and everything they had to deal with. The idea all along was that they needed to maximise personalities and star power to make this sustainable over the long term.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about TGL including the schedule, date, how to watch, and how to buy tickets

“To do that the idea was that they feel like that first week is going to bring a level of curiosity that there will be enough interest and people saying okay I am going to tune in and see what this is all about and if I like it I may come back for week two. Well, week two is going to be Tiger Woods and so you are probably going to come back regardless.

“And then week four is Tiger Woods playing with Rory McIlroy, which is probably the best product you could have in that particular scenario so this was a strategy from the very beginning, from early days so to speak that we need to make the most of what we have to get fans to buy into this to make this regular viewing before football or whatever they are going to watch.”

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods to meet in TGL round four

Golf fans should tune into the opening week of TGL, if only to see what approach the tournament plans to take.

And even with no Woods or McIlroy in action in round one, plenty of top golf should still be on display in Florida.

Rickie Fowler and Matt Fitzpatrick will join Schauffele for New York GC, with Ludvig Aberg and Shane Lowry coming up against them for The Bay GC.

READ MORE: Who is Tiger Woods? A look inside the life of the greatest golfer of all time

Interest should then rise once the main figure makes his long-awaited comeback from injury, with Woods recently undergoing surgery on his back.

And shortly after his TGL debut against Los Angeles GC, the 15-time major champion will come face-to-face with McIlroy as Jupiter Links GC take on Boston Common GC.