“They're sort of cut in no man's land”: Rory McIlroy takes a fresh swipe at LIV golf as he compares TGL with the Saudi-backed league 

Rory McIlroy took part in the launch of the Boston Common Golf team this Monday, November 6, which will participate in the TGL League starting in January 2024. During the press conference, McIlroy said that LIV Golf is in "no man's land" in terms of golf innovation.

The Northern Irishman opined that the TGL League was on a path that was more in line with what was needed to "bring the game into the 21st century". In his words, more golf has been played on simulators than on physical courses during 2023.

This was part of what Rory McIlroy said, according to Sky Sports:

"I don't want to sit here and talk about LIV, but you could make the argument that they haven't innovated enough from what traditional golf is, or they have innovated too much that they're not traditional golf. They're sort of cut in no man's land."

He added:

"More shots were hit on those environments [referring to simulators] than there were on golf courses [last year]. So, as we're trying to bring the game into the 21st century, it's important that these ventures happen. As golf is such a traditional sport, trying to break that mould and trying to bring it into the 21st century is pretty important."

Rory McIlroy also mentioned as an important aspect the fact that the TGL League seeks to innovate in golf, but that it does so with the backing of the PGA Tour. According to him, they tried to ensure from the beginning that the tech-driven league would not become an adversary of the main world circuit.

The other three members of the Boston Common Golf team, Adam Scott, Tyrrell Hatton, and Keegan Bradley, were also present at the press conference.

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Rory McIlroy and the rest of the teams on their way to the TGL League

Boston Common Golf of Rory McIlroy, Scott, Bradley, and Hatton is the only one ready for action so far. Two other teams have announced one of their four players.

They are Atlanta Drive GC, which unveiled Justin Thomas as its centerpiece. Los Angeles GC did something similar with Collin Morikawa. The other two confirmed teams (New York GC and San Francisco GC) have not yet been announced.

Boston Common Golf lockers (Image via X @McIlroyRory).

The league will consist of six teams, one of which has yet to be named. Each team will consist of four players, but only three will play in each round.

TGL League will be played over 15 holes on a virtual course designed and produced by FullSwing. The league will have a technological focus, but will also be designed to be a high-level sporting spectacle.

To this end, methods such as mic'd up players will be used, and approximately 1,600 to 2,000 live spectators will be present. The event will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN+.