Rory McIlroy: Tech-driven Tomorrow's Golf League can broaden the sport's appeal

Rory McIlroy believes the new Tomorrow's Golf League (TGL) is "golf reimagined for the 21st century", with Shane Lowry featuring in the first contest of the new competition.

The name of the indoor simulator league stems from TMRW Sports, the company founded by McIlroy, Tiger Woods and former NBC golf executive Mike McCarley to focus on producing "technology-based ventures" in the world of sports and entertainment.

Yet neither Woods and McIlroy will be competing on opening night - which is a year behind schedule - when New York Golf Club take on The Bay Golf Club over 15 holes in front of 1,500 spectators in Florida on Tuesday evening.

Instead, New York's Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele will face The Bay's Ludvig Aberg, Lowry and Wyndham Clark in alternate-shot triples and singles, with each hole worth a point.

If the teams are tied at the end of regulation, a nearest-the-pin contest will determine the winners.

Woods will feature in week two for his Jupiter Links Golf Club and again in week four against McIlroy's Boston Common Golf, with the top four of the six teams advancing to the play-offs.

.@TGL preseason warmup✅@commongolf @Keegan_Bradley pic.twitter.com/F37Xa4c10a

"The first thing I would like to have people know is it's golf, but it's reimagined, sort of trying to take golf into the 21st century," McIlroy said.

"We have teams, obviously there's a lot of technology involved, trying to bring it into the digital era. A lot of things that we've taken from other sports like a shot-clock, a timeout, things that you don't see in regular golf.

"[We're] trying to appeal to that bigger sports audience out there."

The delayed start to TGL was caused by the venue's roof collapsing during a storm which blew through