Categories
Panorama

Niall Horan Ventures into TGL Ownership

In a surprising move former One Direction heartthrob Niall Horan has acquired an ownership stake in Boston Common Golf. The singer-songwriter has long been associated with the sport through his friendship with golfing superstar Rory McIlroy.

Niall Horan Takes Ownership Stake in Tomorrow Golf League

Boston Common Golf, a team within the innovative Tomorrow Golf League (TGL), has welcomed Niall Horan as an investor. The TGL is an innovative indoor golf league created by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods and is due to start in 2025. Other well-known investors include Serena Williams, Steph Curry and Justin Timberlake.

“I’m thrilled to be part of this venture that merges my passion for golf with the excitement of team competition,” Horan remarked in a statement released on the team’s official website. In addition to his role as an investor, Horan will also act as an ambassador for the team, according to a statement made on the golf team’s website.

Horan Served as a Caddie for Rory McIlroy

Horan has been in the golf business for some time now. From serving as a caddie for McIlroy during the prestigious Masters Par 3 Contest in 2015 to co-founding the successful golf management firm Modest! Golf. His new partnership with Boston Common Golf is the latest addition to Horan’s golf portfolio.

“I can’t wait to experience team golf in this unique format that merges technology with green grass play,” Horan said. “Being able to combine my love for the game and my friendship with Rory into a relationship that helps launch a new concept in golf is truly special.”

Boston Common Golf

Boston Common Golf is one of the six teams of the TGL. The team consists of the four Major winners Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley and is owned by the Fenway Sports Group. The investment group, headed by founders John Henry and Tom Werner, owns the Boston Red Sox, NASCAR’s RFK Racing, the Premier League’s Liverpool franchise and the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins.

Categories
Professionals

Restart after stadium disaster: TGL unveils new start date

In November 2024, a fault in the temporary power system and the backup systems caused the dome of the SoFi Center to collapse, forcing the organizers around Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to postpone the originally planned start on the 9th of January 2024. The Tomorrow Golf League (TGL) has now published the new start date.

TGL starts in January 2025

One year late, the indoor golf league is set to kick off on January 7, 2025. “In planning the launch of TGL presented by SoFi in 2025, we have now marked the first three Tuesdays in January to introduce sports fans to this new form of team golf,” explained Mike McCarley, co-founder of TMRW Sports with Woods and McIlroy. “January is a great time of year for fans looking for prime-time sporting events, and the launch of TGL will complement the start of the PGA Tour season and capitalize on ESPN’s advertising machine as part of their coverage of the NFL and college football playoffs,” McCarley continued.

Six teams are currently confirmed. Atlanta Drive GC, Boston Common Golf, Jupiter Links Golf Club, Los Angeles Golf Club, TGL New York and TGL San Francisco. However, only Atlanta Drive and LAGC have full four-man squads so far. The TGL Golf squad as a whole underwent something of an upheaval at the start of 2024 when Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf. Hatton was previously a member of McIlroy’s Team Boston Common before joining the Saudi Arabia-funded circuit.

How the indoor golf league works

The Tomorrow Golf League presents an innovative format that challenges the traditional rules of golf. Each event of the season is divided into two sessions, with only three of the four players on a team competing. First, they compete in “Triples”, a 3-on-3 competition over nine holes. This is followed by the “Singles”, in which three duels are played over six holes, with each player on their team playing two holes. If no decision is made, it goes into “overtime”, where the aim is to place the ball closest to the flag. The team that gets two of the three balls closer to the target wins the overtime. In addition, each player wears a microphone during the tournament.

The scoring system is similar to that of ice hockey: a win in regulation time, i.e. the triples and singles, earns a team two points, while the losing team receives none. If the game goes into overtime, the losing team receives an extra point. The regular season consists of 15 events, after which the four best teams advance to the playoffs. These include two semi-finals, which are decided after one game, and a final in a best-of-3 format.