One of the biggest hurdles facing TGL, golf’s new simulator league, is getting fans to identify with the league’s six new teams. But Thursday’s announcement involving the New York Golf Club certainly won’t hurt in that area.
The team announced a foursome of New York sports legends—Derek Jeter, Eli Manning, Michael Strahan and CC Sabathia—as investors in the team owned by Steve Cohen. Native New Yorker Jimmy Fallon and New York resident John McEnroe are also joining New York Golf Club’s investor group as limited partners.
“New York has the greatest fans in the world, and we have built a team that will make New Yorkers proud. We believe this fresh, innovative take on the sport will appeal to traditional and new golf fans alike,” Cohen, who also owns the New York Mets, told CNBC in a statement.
Terms of the deals were not disclosed, but Manning and Jeter commented on the news.
“There [have] been a lot of exciting trends in golf with participation growing on and off the course,” Manning, a two-time Super Bowl MVP during his playing days with the New York Giants, said in a statement to CNBC.
“I’m looking forward to seeing NYGC added to New York’s sports legacy,” added Jeter, who won five World Series titles as a member of the New York Yankees.
As for the actual golfers playing for NYGC, that would be the foursome of Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Cameron Young. Of the four, Young, who grew up in Sleepy Hollow and attended Fordham Prep in the Bronx, is the only player with New York ties.
NYGC will play the Bay Golf Club on Jan. 7 in what will be the inaugural match of the new league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy and their TMRW Sports business venture. The six-team league’s season runs through the playoffs, which end March 25, with all matches played at the new SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Main Image: Ira L. Black – Corbis
