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TGL New York Golf Club: Star Players and Prominent Investors

The players of TGL Team "New York Golf Club": Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick. (Photos: Getty)
The players of TGL Team "New York Golf Club": Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick. (Photos: Getty)

Cohen Private Ventures recently announced that the New York Golf Club is backed by a group of prominent investors, including Derek Jeter and CC Sabathia (both former professional baseball players), John McEnroe (former tennis player), Eli Manning and Michael Strahan (both former NFL players) and Jimmy Fallon. The New York Golf Club is one of the teams in the TGL, a golf league founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley. Steve A. Cohen, known as the owner of the New York Mets, acquired the rights to the team in September 2023.

Four of the new investors of the TGL team “New York Golf Club”. From left: Eli Manning, Jimmy Fallon, Michael Strahan, Derek Jeter. (Photos: Getty)

TGL New York Golf Club: The Players

The player line-up includes PGA Tour players Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young, and Rickie Fowler. This line-up was announced back in April 2024 and combines experience, success and team spirit.

World number two Xander Schauffele can look back on an outstanding 2024 season: with victories at the PGA Championship and the Open Championship, he secured two major titles and cemented his reputation as one of the best players in the world. Schauffele already won the Olympic gold medal in 2020 and has been consistently in the top 10 of the world rankings for years.

Matt Fitzpatrick, also a major winner, triumphed at the U.S. Open in 2022. He has also enjoyed several successes on the PGA Tour, most recently winning the RBC Heritage 2023, as well as on the DP World Tour.

Cameron Young brings a breath of fresh air to the team as a rookie. The native New Yorker was named Rookie of the Year in 2022 and impressed with several top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour. He narrowly missed out on victory at the 2022 Open Championship.

Rickie Fowler has been active on the PGA Tour since 2009 and has achieved several victories and numerous top 10 finishes in those years. Having played in five Ryder Cups and three Presidents Cups, he has plenty of experience in the team format. For Fowler, the team game is a special affair of the heart in which he always gives his all with passion.

The Team at the Tonight Show

In November, the four team members paid a visit to Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show in New York to talk to the new investor about TGL.

 
 
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A video released by the PGA Tour shows highlights of the New York TGL team members’ visit to New York City. Among other things, they can be seen hitting balls in the simulator and talking to new investor and former NFL quarterback Eli Manning at a press event.

TGL was originally scheduled to start in 2024, but the start date has now been set for January 7, 2025. The schedule has also been finalized. In the innovative league, six teams of PGA Tour players will compete against each other in matches. Each match lasts around two hours and is played in a specially designed simulator arena in Palm Beach, Florida. The arena features a giant screen, virtual putting greens and a live audience.

TGL: All important information about the “New York Golf Club” at a glance

Team NameNew York Golf Club
The Four PlayersXander Schauffele, Cameron Young, Rickie Fowler (alle USA) und Matt Fitzpatrick (England)
InvestorsSteve Cohen and Cohen Private Ventures, Jimmy Fallon, Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, CC Sabathia, John McEnroe, Michael Strahan
LogoA blue bird, inspired by the official New York state bird, the Eastern bluebird
Team ColorsNew York Navy (dark blue), Birdie Blue (medium blue), Hudson Mist (light gray)

Match dates
January 7, 2025: vs. The Bay Golf Club
January 21, 2025: vs. Atlanta Drive GC
February 18, 2025: vs. Jupiter Links GC
February 24, 2025: vs. Los Angeles Golf Club
March 3, 2025: vs. Boston Common Golf

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Panorama

Scottie Scheffler and the Spirit of Christmas: Money in Golf is Just a Bonus

Scottie Scheffler’s Hero World Challenge win brings Christmas cheer with triumph, faith, and heartfelt giving for a greater cause. (Photos: Getty)

Title defense? Check. Ninth victory of the year? Check. Another million dollars earned? Check. The opening story in this section rightfully belongs to Scottie Scheffler, who dominated the Hero World Challenge 2024 for most of the tournament—using a newfound claw grip for short putts, no less.

 
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This sets the perfect stage for what the 28-year-old shared in his media appearance before the event. When journalists pressed him for details on his conversations with the inactive host, Tiger Woods, during the Pro-Am, Scheffler was in a playful mood. “I think most of the time we just talk about money and how the purses need to be bigger,” he joked. “Today we really grinded on the Ryder Cup and how it’s just such BS that we’ve never gotten paid. Tiger was really frustrated, he feels like he hasn’t made enough money in his career. I feel the same way, I feel like last year I didn’t get paid enough for what I did. Mostly that, just a bunch of griping.”

 
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The laughter wasn’t necessary to signal that Scheffler wasn’t being serious. Yet, when it came to the topic of money later, the devout Christian and good-hearted Texan turned reflective—and honest. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t play golf for money. I’ve been playing golf my whole life for free and the money’s just a bonus. If somebody wants to pay us to come out here and play golf, that’s great, I’m not going to say no to it. I’m going to do the best I can in my community to steward that money well.”

It sounded like a Christmas sermon on the true values of the game and a tribute to its “Spirit of the Game.” Amid the greed often seen in professional golf and the obsession with money, one is inclined to believe the modest and grounded world No. 1. After his latest triumph in the Bahamas, Scheffler surpassed $30 million in prize money for the year.

A prime example of his humility is his trusty old GMC Yukon XL, which he’s driven since 2012 and is now auctioning off for pediatric cancer care. The arrival of baby Bennett prompted the realization: “I definitely drove it for too long,” Scheffler told Golfweek. Incidentally, the first bid of over $50,000 for the GMC came from CBS broadcasting legend Jim Nantz.

 
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Panorama

LPGA Tour and USGA: New Gender Guidelines Cause Discussion

With a far-reaching change to their gender policy, the LPGA Tour and the USGA are sending a clear signal from the 2025 season. (Photos: Getty)
With a far-reaching change to their gender policy, the LPGA Tour and the USGA are sending a clear signal from the 2025 season. (Photos: Getty)

The LPGA Tour, together with the USGA, has announced a fundamental adjustment to its gender policy. The changes, which will apply from 2025, are intended to ensure a balance between inclusion and fair competition.

A Balancing Act Between Fairness and Inclusion

New, stricter gender guidelines will apply from the 2025 season. According to the LPGA and USGA, these are intended to preserve the sporting integrity of the women’s tour by excluding female athletes who have gone through male puberty. This change affects all of the organization’s elite tournaments, from the Epson Tour to the Ladies European Tour.

According to the organizations’ statements, the rules were developed in cooperation with the USGA and are to be based on scientific findings. The medical standards are strict: testosterone levels must be permanently below a certain limit and development must not have gone beyond Tanner Stage 2 – a threshold that lies in early puberty.

“The policy represent our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions”, explained Mollie Marcoux Samaan, Commissioner of the LPGA Tour.

The Controversy Surrounding Hailey Davidson

The decision particularly affects Hailey Davidson, who qualified for the Epson Tour in 2025. As the second transgender golfer in the history of professional golf, Davidson seemed to be on the verge of a milestone – but the new rules make further participation impossible.

Davidson expressed her disappointment on social media and spoke of a step backwards. “I’m being penalized for something that doesn’t give me an advantage,” she wrote in a statement. Davidson emphasized that she is regularly outperformed by other players and criticized the lack of support from the golf community.

Golf in the Footsteps of Other Sports

With its new guidelines, the LPGA Tour is following a trend that can also be observed in other sports. Organizations such as World Aquatics and the World Athletics Council have issued similar regulations to ensure equal opportunities in women’s competitions. The realignment of the gender policy is a response to years of demands from the golf world. Players such as Amy Olson, former LPGA proette, had repeatedly called for a return to a “female-at-birth” approach. “I am very, very sad that women’s organizations have waited so long to change their gender policies,” said Olson. “There are people, human beings in the middle of these situations that it effects. I wish that it could’ve been dealt with before there was a face and a name involved.”

USGA CEO Mike Whan emphasized the importance of fairness as the basis for the decision: “It was all based on competitive fairness as the North Star. Right or wrong, let’s be able to look ourselves in the face and any competitor in one of our women’s events in the face and say if you’re in this event, nobody has a competitive advantage relative to their gender.”

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Bryson DeChambeau Makes Hole in One Over His Own House

Bryson DeChambeau is currently going viral with a hole-in-one challenge. (Photos: Screenshots/@brysondechambeau/Instagram)
Bryson DeChambeau is currently going viral with a hole-in-one challenge. (Photos: Screenshots/@brysondechambeau/Instagram)

Major champion and social media star, Bryson DeChambeau, is currently running an exciting challenge on his social channels: He wants to hit an ace from around 100 yards – over his house and onto a short flag on the green behind his house. DeChambeau himself stands in the driveway of his property on a hitting mat fixed with kettlebells. There are just so many shots per day, which means: on day 1 there is one shot, on day 2 there are two attempts and so on. To give his fans the best possible experience, the American has set up several cameras – including one on the roof – as well as a tracking device.

 
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There have been several close results, for example on days 1 and 13, as the 31-year-old almost holed his ball with the very first shot of the challenge. On day 13, things got really close again when his ball bounced in and out of the hole after shot 7.

 
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What is the probability of hitting an ace?

Lou Stagner, the ‘Golf Stat Pro’, has worked out how high the chance of an ace is in this starting position. At a distance of around 100 yards, the chance of a Tour pro making a hole-out from the fairway is 0.2 per cent, according to Lou Stagner. In Bryson’s situation, the probability is different because he always hits the same shot from 100 yards and from a flat mat. In this case, the probability – according to Stagner’s estimate – is 0.57 per cent for one shot. Stagner has now extrapolated these figures and the result is that the chance of him hitting an ace by day 50 is 99.9 per cent. However, these figures are only an approximate guess by the expert, so we will see how long Bryson DeChambeau still needs.

Update:

On day 16, the time had finally come. After a total of 134 shots, the ball goes into the hole and the joy is huge.

 
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Speculation about the future of the ‘Golf Channel’

(Photo: Getty)
(Photo: Getty)

New owner? The US media giant Comcast, owner of the TV channel ‘NBC’ and the ‘Golf Channel’, among others, wants to spin off its cable network-based offering, which includes the ‘Golf Channel’, into a separate, listed company. The background to this is the increasing unprofitability of cable television, which has fallen behind enormously due to streaming services and is actually only kept alive by the live broadcasting of sporting events. All of this has led to considerable speculation in the USA about the future of the ‘Golf Channel’: Will the PGA Tour, which is already tied to NBC by a TV contract worth 400 million dollars a year until the end of the decade, get involved via its new commercial venture PGA Tour Enterprises in order to secure an in-house golf channel for the future? Or will the LIV Golf League get involved with money from the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund PIF, which is still lacking a high-reach and relevant TV partner?

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Fun

Bryson DeChambeau: Of Eggs and Holes-in-One

Bryson DeChambeau has a good laugh on his social media channels. (Photo: Getty)
Bryson DeChambeau has a good laugh on his social media channels. (Photo: Getty)

Bryson DeChambeau lives up to his new reputation as a model social media personality and is always coming up with new games and jokes. For example, he has eggs thrown at him – what you don’t do to generate attention.

 

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Or he takes on the self-imposed challenge of making a hole-in-one – by hitting a blind shot over his own house in Dallas onto a green in his garden. The additional difficulty: the two-time US Open champion only allows himself as many attempts as the number of days he spends on the bet – so one shot on the first day, two on the second and so on. Of course, DeChambeau updates his fan community each time via TikTok to keep his followers happy:

@brysondechambeau This might take a while… #golf ♬ original sound – Bryson DeChambeau

@brysondechambeau After all this, I better be the best in the world from 100 yards #golf #fyp ♬ original sound – Bryson DeChambeau


Written by Michael Basche

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Panorama

TGL: Complex Set of Rules Including a Hammer as a Penalty for the Indoor Spectacle

(Photo: Instagram/@tglgolf)
(Photo: Instagram/@tglgolf)

Be warned, this is a bold theory: golf needs to be rethought here and there – at least in terms of competition formats. Even the game, which is ageless in its magnificence and unshakeable in its foundations, needs the fresh cell treatment of innovation from time to time. It’s not really that bold an idea, is it?

It needs spectacle

Of course, there is plenty of room for argument about how. But one thing is certain: the leisure society 4.0 can hardly be won over by tedious counting game competitions over four days, unless they have the aura of a major’s speciality or other significance. The fun-focussed modern man flutters from experience to experience: a little thrill here, a little amusement there, a little action there.

Applied to sport, this means: it takes sweat, tears, toil, duels eye for eye, ruckus, lots of smoke and thunder – even for nothing. In short: it needs spectacle. This doesn’t have to be detrimental to the seriousness of the competition, see American football or the new biathlon season starting at the end of November.

New era in Golf

A few weeks later, on 7 January, a new era begins in golf too, so to speak. The starting signal will be given for the competition of tomorrow, which its creators have appropriately christened Tomorrow’s Golf League. With the competition offshoot of their joint venture TMRW Sports, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are taking the future of the game into their own hands.

The two superstars and their team-mate Mike McCarley are following the trend towards gamification of golf, which is enjoying success up and down the country, manifested by the opening of more and more indoor facilities and the constant upgrading of driving ranges with analysis systems, and are also raising the game in the elite sector to the level of modern entertainment. They call the spectacle under the roof of the hall ‘golf remixed’. You could also say: golf goes south curve. That fits the spirit of the times more than ever.

 

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‘Bringing the game into the 21st century’

The TGL match days between ScreenZone and GreenZone will be high-tech events with coliseum character, target shooting, light and show effects like in the NBA, the National Basketball Association. With hype and a grandstand atmosphere like at the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale on 16, the party hole. With tailgating like in American football around the NFL stadiums. A circus, and in the middle of it all, the Triple-A PGA Tour staff wired up as gladiators.

‘We’re trying to break with tradition and bring the game into the 21st century,’ says Rory McIlroy, who points out that more golf was played in simulators than on real courses in 2023. ‘It’s a completely different type of golf; not the traditional sport you see week in, week out.’

‘Everything is even bigger than expected’

The key spatial data has already been presented here, and it is impressive enough: the oversized simulator screen, the specially designed golf courses, the short game area with the green, whose slopes and breaks can be adjusted under the surface using electric motors, the technology surrounding it with huge monitors for the 1,600 spectators in the stands, with treadmills for results, stroke analysis data and scores, etc. ‘Everything is even bigger than I expected. That makes it even better,’ enthused Justin Thomas, for example.

 

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Overloaded regulations?

So far, so exciting and promising. However, there seems to be one catch: the rules. To put it mildly, it is complex. It could, if you like, be too complicated. Sport as a spectacle thrives not least on the transparency of the result, finish or goal lines, clocks that run with the game or the constantly updated score. Winners and losers must be very easy to identify; no one wants an outcome that is only determined after painstaking arithmetic. In the case of the TGL with its ‘Modern Matchplay’ format, this seems overloaded at first glance; the following is an attempt to sort things out:

 

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Every hole is worth a point – most of the time

Three of the four players from the two teams in question compete in each match of the 15 match days of the season. The format is based on awarding points per hole played. The team with the fewest strokes on a hole wins a point. A draw is awarded zero points.

Within a match, two sessions are played in two different formats:

Triples: Nine holes of three against three in alternate shot format. Everyone plays their own ball and the best score per hole is scored for the team.

Singles: Six holes man against man; each player in the team plays two holes.

In the event of a tie, ‘Nearest to the Pin’ as overtime

In the event of a tie at the end of the regular playing time, ‘Nearest to the Pin’ is played in overtime until one team has been closer to the pin twice than the competition.

For each match won, regardless of whether in regular time or in overtime, the team in question receives two points for the overall ranking. If a team only loses in overtime, it still receives one point. The four best teams qualify for the play-offs with semi-finals (17 and 18 March 2025) and final (24 and 25 March).

40 seconds for each stroke

There are also a few special features. For example, there is a shot clock: each player must take their upcoming shot within 40 seconds, the time is monitored by a referee who imposes a penalty if the time is exceeded. On the other hand, each team has four timeouts per match, two for each session, to stop the shot clock.

And then there’s the hammer. Whoever swings it doubles the value of a hole won. It doesn’t take much imagination to visualise the bang that will be created at the SoFi Centre on the campus of Palm Beach State College. The question remains as to what happens if a team doesn’t live up to the hammer it has brought into play. The first match day at the latest will shed light on this and show whether this set of rules does not turn out to be a malus for the spectacle.

 

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Written by Michael Basche

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Panorama

Shock in Pebble Beach: Greenkeeper Survives Fall with Lawnmower on 23-meter Cliff

Hole 6, the scene of the action: the course leads players and greenkeepers along the steep cliffs. (Photo: Getty)
Hole 6, the scene of the action: the course leads players and greenkeepers along the steep cliffs. (Photo: Getty)

Pebble Beach Golf Links is one of the most legendary golf courses in the world and an absolute dream for golfers. Located on the Californian coast, the course impresses with breathtaking views of the Pacific and challenging fairways. Holes 6 to 8 in particular along the cliffs of Stillwater Cove provide excitement and lasting impressions. Since its opening in 1919, Pebble Beach has been the backdrop for numerous major tournaments, including the U.S. Open major tournament. Golfers from all over the world appreciate the course not only for its sporting challenges, but also for the unique natural backdrop that makes every game an experience.

Horrific fall at the flagship of Pebble Beach

The cliffs at holes 6 to 8 usually make for unforgettable memories, sporting challenges and unique shots. On Monday morning this week, however, Pebble Beach caused a stir for a different reason. On the par-5 6th, a greenkeeper was driving his lawnmower right along the cliffs to do his daily course maintenance when the experienced greenkeeper’s daily routine turned into a horror scenario. From an elevated tee, the hole leads down to a sloping fairway, then over a steep rise and is bordered on the right by some 75-foot cliffs overlooking Stillwater Cove.

Rain as the trigger?

The greenkeeper’s lawn mower skidded on the steep hill, causing it to plunge down the approximately 23-foot cliff. The greenkeeper was thrown from the lawnmower, but it remains unclear how far he fell. He was taken to a nearby hospital. “We are in close contact with our employee and his family,” the statement said. “We are thankful that they report he is doing very well.” It had been raining in the area throughout the day, but it is unclear if the wetness played a role in the accident, the cause of which has yet to be determined, the spokesperson said.

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Panorama

“Hats Off for your Bank Account” – Team USA will Receive Payment at the Ryder Cup from now on

Patrick Cantlay was in the spotlight last year because of his missing cap. (Photo: Getty)
Patrick Cantlay was in the spotlight last year because of his missing cap. (Photo: Getty)

Becoming a member of the US Ryder Cup team is on most players’ bucket list. Being allowed to take part in the continental competition not only means experiencing an incomparable week at a first-class team event, but also achieving “fame and glory”. So far at least. Because playing in the Ryder Cup has so far been unpaid. According to a report in The Telegraph newspaper, the twelve American players on the Ryder Cup team will be paid from next year.

400,000 US dollars for the American Ryder Cup players

For several decades now, the question of whether Ryder Cup participants should not be paid has arisen time and again. Last year, the debate flared up again in Rome when it was reported that Patrick Cantlay was not wearing the US team cap in protest at the lack of payment. Previously, US players received 200,000 US dollars for their participation in the team competition, which they could donate to charities of their choice. From now on, however, the players are to receive double that amount and be allowed to put it in their own pockets: 400,000 US dollars. No payment is planned on the European side.

In addition to the “Hat-Gate” surrounding Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele’s father also caused a stir in Rome. He made it clear that he believed the players were entitled to compensation: “If they make profit off this and finance their organization of almost 29,000 [PGA of America] members for four years with the proceeds earned on the backs of these guys here, well, then they should share or they shouldn’t be allowed to do that.” Tiger Woods also said back in 1999: “With all the money that’s being made, we should have a say in where it goes.”

“Not what the Ryder Cup is about”

One European Ryder Cup player told The Telegraph about the change: “They can do whatever they want, but we don’t want payments in our bank accounts, as it’ll be the thin end of the wedge and is not what the Ryder Cup is about. Let’s face it, a lot of the American players have been angling towards this for years, if not decades. If it does go ahead, then it will be interesting to see how the fans react at Bethpage, although they’ll probably announce it as just an extension of what already happens.” Next year’s Ryder Cup will be held at Bethpage Black in the US.

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Panorama

John Daly’s Open Championship trophy goes under the hammer

John Daly of the USA holds the Claret Jug after the British Open at St Andrews Golf Club in Fife, Scotland. Daly won the event with a score of 282. (Photo: Jon Cuban / Allsport / Getty)
John Daly of the USA holds the Claret Jug after the British Open at St Andrews Golf Club in Fife, Scotland. Daly won the event with a score of 282. (Photo: Jon Cuban / Allsport / Getty)

A good deal? Golden Age Auctions is currently auctioning off the replica of the Claret Jug that John Daly received for winning the 1995 Open Championship in St Andrews. According to the auction house, Daly sold his trophy to Golden Age back in 2015. The auction will run until 17 November and the highest bid for the silver jug is currently just under 80,000 dollars. If similar auctions are used for comparison, the sum is likely to rise dramatically over the next few days: In July of this year, an unknown bidder bought the replica of Gary Player’s third Open success at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 1974 for a whopping 481,068 dollars.
(Written by Michael Basche)

 

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