Remember when Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods first introduced TGL in 2023? Many people were unsure about the idea of simulator golf. Two years later, that idea has grown into a Boston-based team backed by Fenway Sports Group, along with a new women’s league. On Monday, McIlroy welcomed the newest players joining his Boston Common Golf team.
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The message was shared on Boston Common Golf’s Instagram. McIlroy spoke directly to the team’s five new WTGL players on camera. It wasn’t a formal press release — instead, he personally welcomed the golfers who will represent his team this fall.
“I’d just like to welcome our LPGA players to Boston Common Golf. To Lottie, Megan, Celine, Ina, Chizzie, welcome to the family. Great to have you on board. I can’t wait to come down and watch you this fall in the SoFi Center. It’s gonna be super exciting,” McIlroy said.
That’s Lottie Woad, Megan Khang, Céline Boutier, Ina Yoon and Chizzy Iwai — the five names now stitched into the Boston Common Golf roster for WTGL’s inaugural season.
Rory McIlroy From One Ballfrog Squad to Two
Boston Common Golf is nothing new for McIlroy. He’s been the face of the men’s TGL team since 2023, playing alongside Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott and, more recently, Hideki Matsuyama. Fenway Sports Group (FSG), which also owns the Red Sox and Liverpool FC, backs the team.
Now, FSG has taken a bigger step into golf by acquiring the Boston Common Golf team in WTGL. It is one of five founding teams in the new women’s league, which was created with the LPGA. This is FSG’s first ownership role in women’s professional golf. The league already has six of the world’s top 13 players.
There’s also serious money behind the project. TMRW Sports, the company founded by McIlroy and Woods that owns both TGL and WTGL, was valued at nearly $500 million in its Series A funding round, before TGL had even played its first match.
A Roster Built to Compete
This isn’t just a ceremonial lineup. Woad, one of England’s fastest-rising players, won her first two LPGA starts and will play in her first Solheim Cup this year. Khang, a Massachusetts native and four-time Solheim Cup player, gives the team strong New England ties. Boutier brings a major title and six LPGA wins, while Yoon ranks in the top 25 in the world. Iwai rounds out a five-player squad capable of competing from day one.
The bigger story here is the launch of WTGL itself. The league begins in November at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens and runs through December, featuring a regular season, a single-elimination playoff and a best-of-three championship series.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda isn’t part of any team; she said earlier this year that she had mixed feelings about the format. With Korda staying on the sidelines, McIlroy’s public support for the players who did join the league carries even more weight.
McIlroy also thanked FM Global in his message, calling the company a sponsor of the WTGL team and a partner of both himself and Boston Common. FM Global also holds personal ambassador deals with Woad and Khang, giving it strong ties to both the team and its players.
For golf fans, this is bigger than one Instagram post. McIlroy, already a co-founder of TGL, is now becoming a key face of both the men’s and women’s sides of the sport. How WTGL performs will become clearer once the league kicks off at the SoFi Center this fall, but McIlroy has made one thing plain: he’s fully behind both leagues.