Williams sisters invest in golf with franchise ownership in Tiger Woods’ new competition
By Jack Bantock, CNN
(CNN) — Together, they conquered tennis. Now, Serena and Venus Williams are turning their talents to golf.
A head-spinning week of revelations in the golf world continued Thursday as the Williams sisters’ Los Angeles Golf Club (LAGC) were announced as the first franchise of the TGL – Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s tech-infused stadium golf competition set to launch in January 2024.
LAGC’s ownership group will be formed of the two sisters and Serena’s husband Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, a statement from Ohanian and TGL CEO Mike McCarley said.
It will mark the second Los Angeles sports franchise owned by Ohanian, who is the principal owner and founding investor of National Women’s Soccer League franchise Angel City FC.
LAGC is the first of six franchises set to compete in the TGL, a competition formed in partnership with the PGA Tour.
On Twitter, Ohanian announced that his and Williams’ daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., would be a co-owner in LAGC.
With Olympia also among the ownership group for Angel City FC, Ohanian declared the five-year-old to be both “the youngest owner in professional sports” and “now the youngest 2-team owner in professional sports.”
After Williams confirmed she was pregnant with the couple’s second child in May, Ohanian added that Olympia’s future sibling would join her in LAGC ownership.
“To wit, my wife Serena and I are delighted that Olympia has taken a liking to golf, so I’m proud to announce that they’re both owners in this club as well – as is the little one on the way,” he said in a statement.
“This is another piece of the legacy I’m building with my family, and I hope LAGC can become a part of many other families’ lives too.”
The announcement arrives in the wake of the shock reconciliation between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV Golf on Tuesday.
The two warring tours are set to unify with the DP World Tour under a new, yet to be named for-profit company, with all pending litigation mutually ended under the agreement.
What is the TGL?
First announced in August 2022, the TGL will see six teams of three PGA Tour players compete in front of a stadium crowd at a custom-built arena in Palm Beach, Florida.
The competition will follow a 15-game seasonal format, followed by semifinals and a championship match, and will be televised in a primetime slot on Monday nights.
The high-tech concept will see players hit shots on a virtual screen before moving to a “state-of-the-art short game complex” in the center of the stadium, according to a press release.
In a bid to attract a younger audience to golf and make the sport more appealing for spectators, every shot will be played within a two-hour window on the hybrid virtual course.
Twelve PGA Tour players have been confirmed to feature, including Woods, McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, and Collin Morikawa.
“We all know what it’s like to be in a football stadium or a basketball arena where you can watch every play, every minute of action unfold right in front of you,” said 15-time major champion Woods upon the announcement of the competition last year.
“It’s something that inherently isn’t possible in traditional golf – and an aspect of TGL that will set it apart and appeal to a new generation of fans.”
The-CNN-Wire
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