“May the best team win!” - Jon Rahm withdraws from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL’s inaugural season citing commitment issues
Reigning Masters Champion Jon Rahm has decided not to compete in the Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL, which will start on January 9, 2024. On Wednesday, his name was removed from the official site and soon the Spaniard made the announcement.
The 28-year-old took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to opt out of the inaugural season of the tech-forward league. He cited commitment issues as the reason for his dismissal. He wrote:
"I am sad to confirm that I will not be participating in the first TGL season. While I still think it’s a great opportunity, right now it would require a level of commitment that I can’t offer. Best of luck to everyone involved and may the best team win!"
Although Jon Rahm opted out from the inaugural season, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL announced in an official statement that they respect the Spaniard's choice and wish him well. Golf.com quoted their official statement as
"Jon is one of the most talented players in the game and we will miss him during the inaugural TGL season. We understand that players have to balance a lot of different facets of their professional and personal lives and respect Jon's choice and wish him well. TGL will name a new player to fill the 24-player roster soon."
The Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL is set to begin on January 9, 2024, in Florida. It will have six teams with four players each competing in a modern match play format with three players facing another three players and later will move to head-to-head in singles matches. The matches will take place every Monday and will be broadcast by ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+
Apart from founders Woods and McIlroy, here is the list of 21 players announced for the inaugural season of the upcoming tech-forward league:
- Collin Morikawa
- Rickie Fowler
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- Xander Schauffele
- Max Homa
- Justin Thomas
- Adam Scott
- Billy Horschel
- Justin Rose
- Shane Lowry
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Tom Kim
- Keegan Bradley
- Cameron Young
- Sahith Theegala
- Kevin Kisner
- Wyndham Clark
- Patrick Cantlay
- Lucas Glover
- Min Woo Lee
Jon Rahm's replacement will be announced soon as per Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL official statement.
The TGL will be played at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach State College, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It has a 250,000-square-foot area with a 75-foot-high apex. Around 1,600 people can watch the event every Monday night at the venue.
Jon Rahm was recently seen at the World Series match on Tuesday
The Spaniard was recently seen at the match between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers in the World Series.
Jon Rahm shared an Arizona Diamondbacks post on his X (formerly known as Twitter) handle. In the video, he could be seen throwing out the first pitch of the game.
Watch the video here:
However, the Arizona Diamondbacks lost to the Texas Rangers 0-5 in the Game 5 on Wednesday night.