Upstart made-for-television golf league TGL from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy launches on ESPN next month. And ESPN has named their on-air trio that will lead viewers through the action.
ESPN anchor Matt Barrie will lead coverage on-site at the custom-made Florida venue that hosts TGL where he will be joined by Marty Smith as a roaming reporter. Scott Van Pelt will be at home in his Washington DC studio working remotely on the telecasts with pregame and postgame coverage as well as intermission segments. All three have been a regular part of ESPN’s major championship golf coverage in recent years.
The golf league was supposed to launch last year, but a power outage caused damage to the facility and caused it to be postponed to January 2024. As a reminder, this is the virtual golf league with teams led by some of the PGA Tour’s biggest names in a supercharged version of Top Golf.
Via ESPN:
Van Pelt will host the pre-match and intermission segments of the prime time matches from the SportsCenter studio in Washington, D.C. Barrie will call the action from the broadcast booth within SoFi Center, TGL’s custom-built venue in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; and Smith will be a roving reporter with access to the golfers, team ownership, and celebrities in attendance at SoFi Center throughout matches.
“Scott, Matt, and Marty have years of experience working together on ESPN’s annual coverage of the Masters and PGA Championship, as well as on SportsCenter and other programming,” said Mike McQuade, ESPN Executive Vice President, Sports Production. “They will make a strong team and we’re looking forward to the debut on January 7.”
“We appreciate ESPN’s level of commitment to TGL” said Mike McCarley, Founder, TMRW Sports. “SVP, Matt, and Marty bring recognizable star-power from the sports they cover regularly and are familiar to golf fans from ESPN’s coverage of the majors. Plus, their relationships with the top players in the sport will help create a refreshing, fun prime time experience for fans.”
Sports Business Journal also adds that Roger Steele, former NBA official Derrick Stafford, former PGA Tour official Mark Russell, Claire Rogers, and Jahmai Webster will also be part of the TGL presentation.
The year-long delay and ongoing strife between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has slowed down any momentum that exists for TGL. The fact that it launches in the middle of the college football and NFL postseasons probably isn’t going to help matters either. But they will have all of the exposure they can get by airing regularly on ESPN and ESPN2 on Monday and Tuesday nights until March.
And most importantly, they will have Tiger Woods, who is still unquestionably the biggest name in golf. Sadly, fans don’t get to see Tiger play much competitive golf these days because of his health. But if TGL is able to extend his career, even in a virtual setting, then hopefully it will all be worth it.
[ESPN]
