‘Bonds Can Be Built For a Lifetime’: Business Partners and Golf Superstars Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy Discuss The Importance of Team Bonding in Golf

In a bid to thwart players from switching alliances to LIV Golf, the PGA Tour has been proactive in its decision-making. Among the many changes over the past year, the most eye-catching addition has been its association with the high-tech TGL league which will run on the sidelines of the PGA Tour. Two of its stalwarts, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, recently came together for a promotional video, wherein the pair emphasized team golf and their past experiences in similar events.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy speak on team bonding in golf

The two Nike star athletes have been working on the project for nearly two years in a bid to make golf interesting for today’s tech-invested youth. Rory McIlroy had said spoken about the event in a press conference at the Tour Championship, highlighting the upsides of a glamorous event alongside the regular PGA Tour.

Read More: Are Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy Starting a New Golf Tour?

In the recently released video on TGL’s official Instagram page, McIlroy and Woods highlighted the importance of team events in golf. “Team golf, it creates these bonds…. so many shared experiences [of] what you go through together,” McIlroy said, to which Woods agreed.

Woods shares his story from past team events

“Those are bonds that can be built for [a] lifetime,” the 15-time Major champion said. The video was titled “Team bonding” and stood by its name when Woods shared his experiences from past team events.

“The most nerve-racking experience I’ve ever had was going to a playoff with Ernie Els from South Africa. I read my par-putt from behind the ball and all I could see was nothing but a sea of red, the whole team together. I miss this put, I lose it for all of them,” Woods said.

The incident occurred at the 2003 Presidents Cup, when Ernie Els and Tiger Woods, the top 2 in golf rankings at that time, were asked to contest in a playoff round. The two went head-to-head against each other on three occasions, after which the captains and the players mutually decided to share the trophy.

Tiger later said about the added pressure and why he could never experience it in a regular golf game. “Missing for all of them just added a totally different element of pressure. That is such a great experience, that’s one of the neat things about the team aspect,” he continued.

The PGA Tour has witnessed massive changes since the inception of the rebel LIV Golf Series. An array of conditions have been brought in to prevent golfers from joining the breakaway league. This included strengthening ties with the DP Tour and making lucrative changes to its Tour schedule, including a major bump in prize money.

Will it prove enough to stop the lure of a bumper contract at LIV? Only time will tell, but the association with TGL alongside two of the most prominent faces in golf is certainly a winning formula for the PGA.

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