Tiger Woods set to join one of the 6 TGL golf teams in January 2024
TGL is a new high-tech golf league set to debut in 2024, and it comes from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Ordinarily, Woods' participation in this league wouldn't come as a surprise, given that he's one of the top people involved.
However, since he's had to preemptively withdraw from everything since the Masters (where he had to withdraw after making the cut) due to injury, the fact that he is supposed to play in January is massive news.
Woods has not played since he left the Masters, even with opportunities to do so at each major tournament. He's already withdrawn from next month's Open Championship, so he's not going to play this season.
While things can certainly change in the next few months, Woods feels like he could participate by the time January rolls around. It should be noted that this is a technological league and therefore a little less physically demanding than a normal league.
Woods could still be away from a return to a physical course at that time, but it still marks a major step in his recovery. The legendary golfer had ankle surgery in April and is still recovering. This surgery could restore him to significantly better shape than before, and it appears that the TGL will be his first chance to show that.
TGL drew comparisons to LIV Golf since both have team-based operations. There are several teams on LIV that golfers participate in. TGL will operate in a similar fashion, but it will have distinct differences.
John Henry and Tom Werner, the owners of the Boston Red Sox, have bought into Woods' and McIlroy's league. They said in a statement via NBC Sports:
“We are excited for this new journey. 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.”
The league also has backing from Serena Williams and others.
Tiger Woods once savagely roasted fellow major champion
Major champion Mark Calcavecchia once participated in a tournament with Tiger Woods. Following that tournament, he had travel issues, much like what Bob Estes recently endured. It's not uncommon for this to happen, but some golfers find ways to work around it.
That includes Woods, who often travels by himself. When Calcavecchia found himself in a severe delay of more than six hours, he texted Woods to berate him for not giving the 1989 Open Championship winner a ride.
In typical Tiger Woods fashion, the legendary golfer had a brief but savage response: "Play better." Had Calcavecchia shot better during the tournament, Woods may have been more inclined to help him out afterward.
Calcavecchia was pressed on whether or not this was real or if he had exaggerated. He confirmed that the 82-time PGA Tour winner only used those two words in response to his pleas.