Three down, three to go. TGL, the new tech golf league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy announced on Monday that its third of six teams will be based in Atlanta and owned by Arthur Blank, owner of the NFL side Atlanta Falcons and MLS’s Atlanta United.

The first season of what is being billed as a tech-forward, prime-time, team golf league launches in January 2024. It was previously announced that Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams and Venus Williams will lead Los Angeles Golf Club while Fenway Sports Group will lead the TGL Boston team.

“We are thrilled to partner with TMRW Sports and be a founding owner in TGL,” Blank said in a release. “I see this as an investment to grow the game, deliver an innovative product to avid fans while exposing golf to new, younger audiences, and another way for us to compete for championships for Atlanta. We will put our best foot forward in effort to achieve all three goals and to help TGL achieve success in any way we can.”

Blank is co-founder of The Home Depot, owner of PGA Tour Superstore and his sports and entertainment division also owns Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to his Falcons and United, as well as other major concerts and sporting events.

“He has been a stalwart supporter of golf at every level and has been engaged throughout much of TMRW Sports’ journey to develop TGL,” said Mike McCarley, CEO of TMRW Sports and TGL. “His expertise in building not only great sports teams, but also strong organisations with his successful business enterprises, is the type of leadership we appreciate and welcome to TGL.”

The league will be staged at an arena on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Florida. Aside from Woods and McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Rickie Fowler, and Billy Horschel have all committed to compete.

Atlanta’s team name, brand, staff and players will be unveiled later this year.

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By Joel Beall
The PGA Tour issued a statement Thursday morning as professional athletes in several sports protested against racial injustice and police brutality.

The statement comes a day after NBA players sat out playoff games in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Sunday. Blake, a Black man, was shot seven times in Kenosha, Wis., as he attempted to enter a vehicle with his children in the car. Three MLB games were also called Wednesday, with athletes from the MLS, WNBA and professional tennis deciding not to play in their respective contests in protest.

“The MLB, MLS, NBA, WNBA and WTA protests are player-led, peaceful, powerful ways to use their respective platforms to bring about the urgent need for change in our country,” read a statement from the tour. “There have been a number of efforts in the past to send a message that the current climate is unacceptable, and these teams, leagues and players now taking this step will help draw further attention to the issues that really matter. The PGA Tour supports them—and any of our own members—standing up for issues they believe in.”

Cameron Champ, one of the tour’s four players with Black heritage, issued his own statement through the PGA Tour Wednesday evening, and has been wearing shoes with “Jacob Blake” and “BLM” messages. “People ignore it for so long. And then it gets to a point where it just blows up,” Champ said. “This is just the tipping of the iceberg. Change needs to happen. I feel like it’s going in the right direction, but again, with all the stuff that’s going on, it has to end.”

The PGA Tour pledged earlier this summer to be part of the solution, stating it is actively working to make “deeper and more specific commitments to racial equity and inclusion in the communities where we play, as well as supporting national organizations within this movement that we had not previously engaged with.”

“However, we understand that now is not the appropriate time to highlight our programs and policies, but rather to express our outrage at the injustice that remains prevalent in our country,” read the tour’s statement. “Sports have always had the power to inspire and unify, and we remain hopeful that together, we will achieve change.”

The tour’s BMW Championship remains scheduled to begin Thursday morning at Olympia Fields in the suburbs of Chicago.

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