MIAMI (AFP) — Tiger Woods will serve as a co-owner and player for Jupiter Links Golf Club, the sixth and last team in the inaugural season of the tech golf league he helped develop.
The 15-time major winner’s TGR Ventures will co-own the TGL squad that debuts in January along with David Blitzer, a private equity investor and co-owner of teams in every major US sports league.
Woods, who has not competed since the Masters after undergoing right ankle surgery in late April, will be joined by three other players on the roster for Jupiter, a Florida resort where Woods has lived for years.
“Having the opportunity to not only compete, but also own a team to represent Jupiter is an exciting next chapter for me,” Woods said.
“I expect Jupiter Links GC to showcase the golf culture of my hometown as we compete against the best players in the world.”
Other teams in the league will include Atlanta Drive, Boston Common, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles Golf Club.
The TGL, developed by Woods and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy of the Boston team, features events at a specially built arena in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with a video screen simulator and actual greens. Matches start on 9 January.
Woods, who turns 48 next month, has struggled to walk courses in PGA Tour and major tournaments since suffering severe leg injuries in a 2021 car crash.
Woods, a 15-time major winner who has not competed since the Masters following right ankle surgery, caddied for son Charlie in a 54-hole junior tournament, hinting at a possible December return.
Woods has not announced a timetable for any comeback but handling his son’s bags at the Notah Begay III Boys Junior Golf National Championship this past weekend in Louisiana indicated his body might nearly be ready for such a move.
Woods suffered severe leg injuries in a 2021 car crash and was sidelined until last year’s Masters, where he finished 47th. He withdrew from the 2022 PGA Championship, skipped the US Open and missed the cut at the British Open.
After withdrawing in the third round of this year’s Masters due to plantar fasciitis, Woods underwent surgery on his ankle in late April.
Woods, who shares the record for PGA Tour triumphs with Sam Snead at 82, has struggled to walk courses for four rounds since his comeback.
Charlie Woods fired a closing three-under par 68 to finish level for 17th at two-over 215 in the 14-15-year-olds division.
Woods, who turns 48 next month, also appeared before last week’s PGA Tour event in Mexico, the tour’s first event to be played on a course he designed.
At El Cardonal at Diamonte, Woods was seen walking comfortably down a long staircase and visiting with players, including fellow American Stewart Cink, the 2009 British Open winner who declared Woods was in “go mode” and had returned to practicing.
Charlie and Tiger Woods have played for the past three years at the PNC Championship, a best-ball event for parent and child. Competitors are allowed to use carts at the event, which is next played 14 to 17 December.
There also remains a vacant spot in the field at the Hero World Challenge, an invitational event Woods hosts in the Bahamas that is scheduled for 30 November to 3 December.
