TGL (the virtual golf league) was to debut one month later in Palm Beach Gardens.
Just over three weeks ago, the roof of the venue collapsed. This caused the league to delay its debut season by one year. Although the delay is unfortunate for those who joined, they believe that it may be beneficial.
Justin Rose, a Londoner who joined TGL’s team in February, said: “We all are coming into it pretty fast.” I know that the concept, build-out, and tech have been around for a few years, but there were always going to some things to iron out. As players, we would be seeing the game for the first.
Rickie Foller, from Jupiter, said: “It’s going to be a benefit to it to begin in 25.”
Venue is located on campus at Palm Beach State College. The dome of the arena collapsed and the rest of the air-supported structure deflated due to a power outage on the night of November 14. The dome’s 250,000-square foot area was not damaged and there were no injuries.
TGL had a very tight schedule to start, mostly because ESPN was televising the events. TGL issued a statement less than a week following the collapse. The company said that the decision to delay the start of the tournament by one year was taken after discussions with the players, six team ownership groups and PGA Tour leadership.
TGL is owned and operated by TMRW Sports Group.
Billy Horschel who joined in February said, “The more time you give yourself, the more likely you are to get things done right.” “We were excited to start this year, but we would miss some things. We were all in a hurry to get started.
“Yes, I know it’s a pain to have to wait an entire year. It will allow us to better understand how the system works and get things under control. It gives us a full year to continue marketing and talking about TGL, how it will work.”
On February 20, 2023, Tiger Woods, Mike McCarley and Rory McIlroy, founders of TMRW Sports Group, Palm Beach State College president Ava Parker and PGA commissioner Jay Monahan, left to right, wield shovels at a ceremony for the groundbreaking event. The future home of TGL, a brand new golf league that will be played in a stadium in partnership with PGA. (Photo by Thomas Cordy of the Palm Beach Post).
The league combines technology with live golf. It consists of six teams with four PGA Tour professionals competing in an 18-hole match-play format. The first matches are scheduled for January 9. The first 15 matches of the regular season will be played on Monday nights, followed by the semifinals and finals.
Sahith Theegala described the timeline as “ambitious”, but said that some criticisms for trying to start this in such a small time were unfair.
Theegala stated, “I believe it could even improve the product.” “I’m sure they did a lot of work (in research and development), and the timeline was ambitious. Many people have put in a great deal of effort. “I think it will only get better once it starts.”
Lucas Glover, a Jupiter who joined TGL just two months ago drives past the building after dropping off his children at school. Glover thought the timeline was reasonable.
Glover said, “I thought they were ready.” Glover said, “Now I believe they’ll really be ready. The owners, teams, sponsors and all of that are unfortunate to have a year’s delay. They can now work out any kinks and get feedback from the technology. I think it will be beneficial in the end.”
The golfers are confident that the league will continue as planned even if a year has passed.
Rose replied, “Definitely.” There’s been too much invested in it, and it is now running. What happened is a tragedy. It was unfortunate what happened. This gives them an opportunity to pivot.
Theegala stated that “TGL is a way to grow golf, a way to attract more people to the sport, and another sporting event live,” Theegala. There’s going be some good things that come out of this.
