Rory McIlroy stunned as Shane Lowry falls victim to unique new rule on lucrative $21m TGL debut

Golf entered a new world on Tuesday night with the launch of TGL – an indoor simulator golf league featuring the game’s top players.

With a number of quirky new rules and a radically different format, Shane Lowry was among the first players to step into the state-of-the-art SoFi Arena as his Atalanta Bay secured a 6-0 thrashing over New York Golf Club.

Lowry was the man responsible for starting golf’s new high-tech era
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The tech-based league was created by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods with the help of sports executive Mike McCarley as a way to engage a new audience in a prime-time TV slot that lasts just two hours.

And Lowry saw just how mad the format can be when he was forced to back off a tee shot due to a ‘hammer’ being thrown.

Along with 40-second shot clocks, timeouts, and referees – TGL have implemented a ‘hammer’ rule which gives teams the opportunity to double the value of a hole.

It can be used at any moment and the opposing team must accept it or forfeit the hole.

In total, the teams play 15 holes, nine of which are three-on-three matchplay, with an alternate shot format, and six are one-on-one matchplay, with each golfer playing two holes.

On the seventh hole, Lowry was standing over his tee shot when an orange flag was thrown by New York Golf Club, forcing him to back off.

McIlroy had just entered the TV broadcast’s commentary booth when this occurred – and was left stunned as it happened.

“Oh!” he said. “There’s been a hammer throw.

“This puts a lot more pressure on Shane.”

The players are mic’d up and given an earpiece to communicate with the commentators, so Lowry was privy to McIlroy’s comment.

McIlroy and Lowry are close friends
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He chuckled and responded: “Cheers Rors!”

Lowry, playing alongside Ludvig Aberg and Wyndham Clark, was also responsible for hitting the first tee shot into the gigantic 64ft x 53ft simulator screen.

Players then venture over to the ‘green zone’ for shots within 50 yards, such as chips and putts, which features 600 motorised sensors and 360-degree rotation.

The match was decided when Rickie Fowler – playing alongside Xander Schaueffele and Matt Fitzpatrick – conceded the opening hole of his singles match against Lowry by dropping the pin in front of his putt.

Lowry admitted the opening night of TGL had an ‘intimidating’ feel to it.

“It’s quite an intimidating place to play golf because it’s somewhere we’re not used to,” the Irishman said.

What is TGL?

Simply put, TGL is an indoor simulator golf league featuring the game’s top players.

It will take place at a super high-tech arena called the SoFi Centre in Florida with a live crowd of around 1,500 people.

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods were the ones who came up with it, with the help of a guy called Mike McCarley, as part of their TMWR Sports venture.

It’s got a bunch of big-name investors, like Serena Williams, Lewis Hamilton, and Fenway Sports Group – who own Liverpool. ESPN and Sky Sports are signed up to broadcast it.

How do they compete?

There’s six teams of four, all franchises based on US cities, and all featuring top PGA Tour players. No LIV Golfers.

There is one head-to-head match each week lasting just two hours for a primetime TV slot in the States.

There will also be a 40-second shot clock and timeouts and referees to enforce the rules. All of the players are mic’d up to ensure maximum entertainment value.

McIlroy has described the concept as ‘golf reimagined’
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How does it work?

For shots longer than 50 yards, players will hit into this enormous screen, which is 53 foot tall and 64 foot wide.

That’s about 24 times the size of your normal golf simulator. They play off real grass, the rough and the fairways will be reflected on the surface, and it even moves to reflect the slope.

The green complex has 600 motorised sensors underneath it and 360 degree rotation to simulate the exact real life scenario facing the players.

The bunkers have the same sand as Augusta National, and they’ve even thought about the direction of the grain around the greens.

Format

Each team picks three players, they play 15 holes. The first nine holes are ‘Trebles’ – three-on-three matchplay, with each player taking turns to hit the shots.

The final six holes are ‘Singles’ – one-on-one matchplay with each player playing 2 holes.

If it’s all square after 15, they go to overtime and play closest to the pin.

Teams get two points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win, one point for an overtime loss, and zero points for a regulation loss.

There will be Play-Offs in March with semi-finals and a final to determine the league’s overall winner – with a $21million purse to be divided among players.

The league is designed to move golf into a new tech-based future
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Teams

Atlanta Drive GC
• Patrick Cantlay
• Lucas Glover
• Billy Horschel
• Justin Thomas

Boston Common Golf
• Keegan Bradley
• Hideki Matsuyama
• Rory McIlroy
• Adam Scott

The Bay Golf Club
• Ludvig Aberg
• Wyndham Clark
• Shane Lowry
• Min Woo Lee

Jupiter Links Golf Club
• Max Homa
• Tom Kim
• Kevin Kisner
• Tiger Woods

Los Angeles Golf Club
• Tommy Fleetwood
• Collin Morikawa
• Justin Rose
• Sahith Theegala

New York Golf Club
• Matt Fitzpatrick
• Rickie Fowler
• Xander Schauffele
• Cameron Young

https://talksport.com/golf/2454644/rory-mcilroy-shane-lowry-tgl-rules/

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