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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
Two-time major championship winner Justin Thomas is joining Atlanta Drive GC, one of the six teams in TGL presented by SoFi, the tech-infused golf league being developed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, the franchise announced Tuesday.
Thomas, a 15-time winner on the PGA Tour, is the first player to be assigned to one of the six teams in TGL, which is scheduled to begin play Jan. 9 at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Three other players will be assigned to Atlanta’s roster later, according to the news release. Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank added Atlanta Drive GC to his portfolio of sports franchises in August.
“Atlanta and the state of Georgia have been the home to some of the biggest sporting events in the country, and I’m excited to represent fans there as part of TGL and Atlanta Drive GC,” Thomas said in a statement. “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.
“I promise our team will compete hard to win championships and have a lot of fun along the way. We will represent Atlanta in the best way possible while helping grow the game everywhere through this unique TGL format.”
Four-man rosters for Boston Common Golf, Los Angeles Golf Club, TGL New York and TGL San Francisco will be released soon as well. TMRW Sports, which developed TGL, hasn’t yet announced the ownership group for its sixth franchise.
Major championship winners Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and Adam Scott are also part of the league’s 24-man roster. McIlroy and Woods will also compete in the league.
According to the release, TGL worked with the PGA Tour, players and their managers “with the goal that a player’s TGL schedule will be largely complementary to his PGA Tour competitive schedule.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Justin Thomas to Atlanta Drive GC and believe he’s a perfect fit for who we want this team to be and how we want to play,” Dick Sullivan, CEO of PGA Tour Superstore and Atlanta Drive GC manager, said in a statement. “Thomas’ remarkable talent, unwavering dedication to the game and competitive spirit make him a fan favorite and someone who represents the values that drive all [AMB Sports and Entertainment] teams and businesses.”
The league will consist of six teams with four-man rosters; matches will feature three golfers playing for each team in a match-play format on a virtual course with a short-game complex.
On Tuesday, TGL released additional details about how the matches will work. In the modern match-play format, each hole is worth one point. There are no ties or carryovers. Each match will include two sessions: one 3-on-3, nine-hole match of alternate shot plus one six-hole, head-to-head singles match in which each player competes in two holes.
If a match is tied after the two sessions, the outcome will be decided in a shootout that ends when a team hits two shots closer to the pin than their competitors. All players will wear microphones during the matches.
The season-long standings will use a points-based system like the NHL’s: two points for a win in regulation or overtime, one point for a loss in overtime, and no points for a loss in regulation. The top four teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the playoffs, which will include a single-elimination semifinals and a best-of-three finals.
TGL also released new details about the course at SoFi Center, located on the Palm Beach State College campus. The 250,000-square-foot venue will have a 75-foot-high apex and will be able to host about 1,600 people for matches. The course will be approximately 97 by 50 yards, about the size of a football field.
Players will hit from tee boxes, fairways and rough areas of real grass and sand. Long shots will be hit into a screen that is roughly 20 times the typical size of a golf simulator. For shots that are about 50 yards, or less, players might transition from screenplay to green play, which is a custom-built complex called the “Green Zone.” According to a TGL release, it is four times larger than four basketball courts and will feature the largest-ever adaptable putting surface.
“The 3,800 square-foot tech-infused green includes three 15 x 27 foot Virtual Greens by Full Swing, each with 189 actuators and jacks that change the slope of the green creating a variety of play on every TGL hole,” the release said.
The inaugural season will include 15 regular-season matches, followed by the semifinals and finals. The matches will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+.
