TGL Virtual Golf League Delayed Until 2025 After Extensive Damage Done To Venue, Broadcasting Issues

Published|Updated

TGL, the virtual golf league led by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, was set to begin its first season in January. Now, after major damage was done to the host venue in Palm Beach, Florida, the start date has been pushed back a full year until 2025, as first reported by Sports Business Journal.

Last week, photos and video showed extensive damage done to the domed roof of TGL's SoFi Center. Most began speculating that the scheduled start date would have to be pushed back and Monday's report turned that speculation into reality, though not many predicted a delay of over a year's time.

The reason for the extended delay has more to do with multiple time crunches than the repairable damage to the venue.

"I've been a believer in TGL, and as the momentum has built this past year, I'm even more excited about what this can become for fans fo the game all around the world," Woods said in a statement. "Although the events of last week will force us to make adjustments to our timelines, I'm fully confident that this concept will be brought to life by our great committed players."

The TGL was never meant to be a competitor with the PGA Tour, in fact, the two sides had partnered together. Pushing the start date back would conflict with both the schedules of PGA Tour players and the Tour itself. The first season was scheduled to end by April.

TGL also signed a broadcast deal with ESPN that, according to SBJ, was based on the network's sports calendar in Q1 that wouldn't compete with football or the NBA and NHL postseasons in April. While ESPN joining forces with TGL shows the network had faith in the product, it would be far from a priority compared to those three other sports and broadcast deals.

Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Woods, and McIlroy are among the group of world-class players who were scheduled to compete beginning in January.

A new date for a launch in 2025 has not been determined, but SBJ's report stated the league willa attempt a launch around the same January 9 date in '25, but the expanded College Football Playoff could impact that timeline.

Follow Mark Harris on X @ItIsMarkHarris and email him at mark.harris@outkick.com

Tags
Written by

Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.