Rory McIlroy Joins Boston TGL Team With Two Major Winners And Ryder Cup Star
The first full TGL team has been released with founder Rory McIlroy fronting Boston Common Golf Club alongside a Ryder Cup teammate and two Major champions
Rory McIlroy will play for Boston Common Golf Club in the inaugural TGL season, with the first full team announced ahead of the January launch.
TGL has suffered a huge blow with the confirmation that Jon Rahm has pulled out of the event, despite being one of the first to sign up, but the league is pressing on with one of the big names confirming his team.
McIlroy will play alongside New England native Keegan Bradley, Masters champion Adam Scott and Englishman Tyrrell Hatton in the four-man Boston team.
Owned by Fenway Sports Group, who are also in control of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC, Boston Common Golf Club are one of six teams who will compete in TGL, starting on 9 January next year.
The high-tech league, which will partly be played on a simulator in a purpose-built arena in Florida, is the brainchild of McIlroy and Tiger Woods - with one of the founders now confirmed to be on the Boston team.
“I’m thrilled to join Boston Common Golf and to be representing Boston and New England’s rich sports culture,” said McIlroy.
“TGL brings a unique dimension to the game, and I can’t wait to stand with Adam, Keegan, and Tyrrell as my teammates.
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"It’s a fantastic opportunity that will offer us all a chance to build lasting connections and to foster regional pride that you don’t often see in the game of golf.”
McIlroy's Ryder Cup teammate Hatton was delighted to join a team with links to the Premier League side he supports in Liverpool.
A foursome fit for the City of Champions🏌️ @Keegan_Bradley 🏌️ @McIlroyRory 🏌️ Adam Scott🏌️ @TyrrellHatton pic.twitter.com/fcYCNJ1fDoNovember 2, 2023
“Being a part of the Fenway Sports Group family through Boston Common Golf is truly surreal,” said Hatton.
“As a lifelong Liverpool FC fan, it’s a dream come true to be part of the same ownership group.
"This is an incredible opportunity to represent the spirit of excellence and winning that Fenway Sports Group embodies, and to play with some of the golfers I have admired throughout my career.”
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Bradley was always a natural fit for the Boston team, as a proud New Englander and supporter of the Red Sox - he famously dressed the Wanamaker Trophy in his team's colours after winning the 2011 PGA Championship.
“I’m incredibly proud to be a part of Boston Common Golf, especially as a kid from New England,” said Bradley.
“This region has a rich golfing history, and to have the opportunity to represent it is a dream come true.
"I come from a family deeply connected to the sport, and to represent that heritage while also contributing to a team backed by Fenway Sports Group is a unique honor.”
Even Australian Scott says he has some affinity with the New England region.
“My first win on the PGA TOUR was in 2003 at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Massachusetts which makes being part of the New England team especially meaningful,” said Scott.
Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.
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