Serena Williams and sister Venus buy American sports team after Miami Dolphins investment
Serena and Venus Williams are seeking success in another sport together, but this time they won’t be the ones competing for glory. The ultra-successful siblings have secured the first franchise in Tiger Woods’ new team golf league, the TGL. Is it the latest step in their journey into sporting investments.
It’s been a remarkable week for the sport of golf after it was announced on Tuesday that the warring PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV group are to bury the hatchet and merge with the DP World Tour into one unified outfit.
After digging into their own pockets to make investment into the Miami Dolphins, the Williams sisters are full steam ahead with the expansion of their sporting stable.
Along Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian – husband of Serena and venture capitalist – the Williams sisters believe that their new Los Angeles Golf Club team can capture a younger audience in the embryonic TGL.
Speaking to Reuters (as per Onmanorama Sports), Ohanian said: “I knew I wanted to do this team and I knew I wanted to bring Serena in so I was like, babe come on board. When I told her I was going to start another team she was like, seriously. Then I told her what it was and she said that sounds amazing.”
The primetime event is set to launch in January 2024 and will be held on Monday nights, so as not to interfere with the regular PGA tour schedule. The teams will comprise of PGA Tour players who will go head-to-head over 18 holes of match play on virtual courses with a special short game area.
The TGL schedule will comprise a 15-match regular season, followed by semi-finals and a final. All matches will be played in a specially-built arena in Palm Beach, Florida.
Ohanian said: “I like the simplicity of it and the fact the PGA Tour saying we want this to be a complimentary league. We are going to have the best athletes in the world playing in a format that is way more digestible for the casual fan.
“Yes it is high-tech, yes it is taking advantage of all the latest technology but at the end of the day it is an experience people are going to want to watch.”
