Inaugural TGL Golf Season Tees Off in Prime Time on ESPN, ESPN+ on January 7

After much anticipation and buildup, the debut of the new tech-centric TGL presented by SoFi has finally arrived. The fast-paced, prime time team golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports in partnership with the PGA TOUR premieres Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+.

Fans can get a taste of what to expect when ABC airs a one-hour TGL preview show on Sunday, Jan. 5, at 2 p.m.

Scott Van Pelt (host), Matt Barrie (play-by-play), and Marty Smith (reporter) will lead the ESPN telecast team for Tuesday night’s debut and for the season. In addition to the live telecast of the match, Barrie will co-anchor the 2 p.m. ET edition of ESPN’s signature news and information program SportsCenter from the site each week during the TGL season.

With the TOUR fresh off The Sentry, its first Signature Event of 2025, TGL’s first-ever match on Jan. 7 pits the New York Golf Club (Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler) against The Bay Golf Club (Ludvig Åberg, Wyndham Clark, Shane Lowry) as the two youngest teams in TGL square off. Schauffele is coming off of a career season that included two major championship victories and Fitzpatrick, Clark and Lowry are all past major champions.

Six teams composed of four stars each from the PGA TOUR comprise the player lineup for the inaugural season, with three players from each team participating in each match. The full season of TGL will air and stream exclusively on ESPN platforms, including 15 regular season matches, playoffs and the top two teams competing to win the SoFi Cup in a best-of-three Finals Series on Monday, March 24, and Tuesday, March 25.

TGL’s matches will primarily be in prime time on Mondays and Tuesdays, with each match scheduled for approximately two hours. Fusing golf with technology on an unprecedented scale, TGL’s home is the custom-built SoFi Center, a 250,000 square foot, tech-infused venue in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

TGL’s technology mix allows for every shot to be broadcast live; a shot clock – forcing teams to hit within 40 seconds; unprecedented audio access with all players mic’d; advanced shot data; a production plan featuring robotic and embedded cameras throughout the field of play; and a high-tech, in-venue lighting and video presentation.

The second match of the season on Tuesday, Jan. 14 (ESPN, 7 p.m.) will feature the TGL debut of Woods and his Jupiter Links team (Kevin Kisner, Max Homa and Tom Kim) vs. Los Angeles Golf Club (Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, Tommy Fleetwood, and Justin Rose).

ESPN+ also will again be the home of PGA TOUR LIVE in 2025, featuring the same PGA TOUR stars who will be competing in TGL. Fans again having access to more than 4,300 live and exclusive hours covering 35 tournaments in 2024, including all eight of the TOUR’s Signature Events and at least 28 tournaments with four full days of coverage with four simultaneous live feeds each day.

TGL presented by SoFi Schedule for January on ESPN Platforms

(all times Eastern)

Sun., Jan. 5         TGL Preview Show                                                      2 p.m.          ABC
Tue., Jan. 7         Match 1 – New York GC vs. The Bay GC                    9 p.m.          ESPN, ESPN+
Tue., Jan. 14       Match 2 – Los Angeles GC vs. Jupiter Links GC         7 p.m.          ESPN, ESPN+
Tue., Jan. 21       Match 3 – New York GC vs. Atlanta Drive GC             7 p.m.          ESPN, ESPN+
Mon., Jan. 27     Match 4 – Jupiter Links GC vs. Boston Common GC   6:30 p.m.     ESPN, ESPN+
 

By: Andy Hall