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June 26 (UPI) -- Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool and Pittsburgh Penguins, purchased a Boston TGL team, the golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy announced Monday. Woods and McIlroy announced the new, tech-infused golf league in August through their company TMRW Sports. TGL is expected to start play in January.
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TGL announced the Los Angeles Golf Club as its first team on June 8. That club is owned by Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams and Venus Williams. The Los Angeles and Boston teams will compete against four other teams, which have yet to be announced.
"We are excited for this new journey as one of the six inaugural TGL teams in honor of a city whose love and passion for sports is unparalleled," Fenway Sports Group principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner said in a news release.
"Through this new, tech-focused version of the game, New England sports fans will soon have a team of world-class PGA Tour players to cheer for and redefine for this community what it means to play the game in the modern era. We owe tremendous thanks to Tiger, Rory, and Mike for creating this innovative new league and allowing us to be present at its creation."
The Boston team will announce its name, logo and team members later this year. Fenway Sports Group was an initial investor in TMRW Sports in October.
The new golf league offers a fresh approach to the sport with a focus on technology, innovation, and fan engagement. A purpose-built venue in Palm Beach, Florida, will combine a data-rich virtual course with a state-of-the-art short game complex creating a unique experience for the fans in the stands and watching around the world.
The new league will feature the world's top players in a two-hour, team golf competition that merges physical and virtual golf airing in primetime and beginning in January 2024. The TGL Boston team will play in five regular season matches against the other TGL teams, followed by semi-final and finals series.
No. 2 Jon Rahm, McIlroy (No. 3), No. 6 Xander Schauffele, No. 8 Matt Fitzpatrick, No. 9 Max Homa, No. 17 Justin Thomas, No. 20 Collin Morikawa, No. 31 Justin Rose, No. 35 Rickie Fowler, No. 39 Adam Scott, No. 42 Billy Horschel and Woods (No. 1,094) are among the players committed to TGL, which partnered with the PGA Tour.
The formation of TGL occurred amid the two-year legal battle between the PGA Tour and Saudi-funded LIV Golf Series, which recently announced an agreement to form their own entity. In that announcement, the golf partners said players who were suspended or left the PGA Tour to participate in LIV Golf could return for the 2024 season.
No LIV Golf competitors are included on the current TGL roster, but could become eligible to join if the PGA Tour finalizes that pathway for return.
TGL will hold events Monday nights at a custom-built venue. TGL described the venues as "a data-rich, virtual course complete with a tech-infused, short-game complex."
Three PGA Tour players will be on each team during the 15-event regular season, followed by the playoffs and championship match.
