This isn’t exactly an expansion draft, but Justin Thomas is the first player to join one of the six teams in the new TGL League. Thomas, a two-time PGA champion, is the first of four players to join Atlanta Drive Golf Club.
The TGL League starts in January and will be shown on ESPN. It pits players from two teams going head-to-head in a South Florida arena in which some of the shots involve a high-tech simulator and shots around the green will be actually made.
Atlanta is among five of the six teams already named. The others are in Boston, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Player announcements for other teams — including the sixth team not yet revealed — are expected over the next week.
The teams feature high-end owners from sports and entertainment, such as Arthur Blank of the Atlanta Falcons owning the Atlanta Drive.
“To be aligned with an owner like Arthur Blank and his incredible variety of businesses as they expand their golf portfolio feels like a great fit for me,” Thomas said.
“I promise our team will compete hard to win championships and have a lot of fun along the way.”
Some of the assignments are based on regions — Thomas grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and played college at Alabama — and how players’ PGA Tour and European tour schedules will align with the TGL matches.
Most of the matches will be held on Tuesday in prime time on ESPN platforms.
TGL was developed by TMRW Sports, owned by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. The acronym doesn’t stand for anything official, though the “T” most likely stands for TMRW (not Tiger). TGL already has a full roster of 24 players. Twelve have won majors and six players have reached No. 1 in the world.
ANNIKA IN GREEN
Augusta National has a longstanding policy of not discussing membership. Chairman Fred Ridley was willing to make an exception given the fame of one of the recent additions: Annika Sorenstam.
“I am very excited about Annika, so I’ll just say that,” Ridley said at the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship in Australia. “She is a delightful person. As you know, we have a number of women members and have for a quite a few years. I think it made us a better club and they are an integral part of our culture.”
Golfweek first reported Sorenstam had been invited to become a member.
While women long have been able to play the home of the Masters as guests, the first women were not invited to join Augusta National until 2012, when former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore joined. Since then, others invited to join include former USGA president Diana Murphy and Pebble Beach co-chair Heidi Ueberroth.
Ridley, a former U.S. Amateur champion, said he played with Sorenstam when Augusta National re-opened for member play a few weeks ago.
