Liverpool owners buy team in new golf league backed by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods
Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group have become the second group to purchase a team in the newly-founded golf league which was set up by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.
FSG, run by John Henry and Tom Werner, bought the Merseyside club in 2010 and have stakes in Major League Baseball side Boston Red Sox as well as National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
The team will represent Boston and the New England region in TGL - billed as a “high-tech, high-energy fan experience” built around data and short-game golf - and is the second confirmed team after tennis icon Serena Williams and her husband, Alexis Ohanian - co-founder of the social media website Reddit - purchased a team based in Los Angeles alongside Serena’s sister, Venus Williams.
In a statement on the PGA Tour website, Henry and Werner said: “We are excited for this new journey as one of the six inaugural TGL teams in honour of a city whose love and passion for sports is unparalleled.
“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.”
PGL is owned by TMRW Sports and is set to launch in January 2024 in partnership with the PGA Tour. The concept will see many of the top golfers in the world compete in a purpose-built arena with the use of technology and simulators hoping to create a different golfing product and engage a new audience with the sport.
The project is being led by world number three McIlroy and 18-time major champion Woods. It has received investment from numerous celebrities and sporting figures such as Justin Timberlake, Lewis Hamilton, Gareth Bale, Lewis Hamilton and Shaquille O’Neal.
Many of the world’s top golfers including Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler have already agreed to compete in the league. It is not expected to be affected by the recent partnership between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF)
It also marks the latest venture for FSG who have also become an investor in Formula One team Alpine through their partnership with investment firm RedBird Capital Partners.
In February 2023, the group denied that they were looking to sell Liverpool although they were searching for new investors.
