ORLANDO, Unites States: World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand and Major winners Yin Ruoning of China and Japan’s Yuka Saso will join a stellar lineup of global stars to feature in the WTGL, the new women’s team golf league created by TMRW Sports in partnership with the LPGA, as the complete rosters for its five inaugural teams, Atlanta Drive GC, Boston Common Golf, Los Angeles Golf Club, Motor City Golf Club and New York Golf Club, were announced today.
Korea’s World No. 20 Ina Yoon and Japanese twin sisters Chizzy Awai and Aki Iwai, both LPGA Tour winners, complete the strong Asian representation.
The rosters bring together 25 dynamic and talented players that include World Golf Hall of Fame members, major champions, Solheim Cup winners, legends of the game and young up-and-coming stars who are ready to showcase women’s team golf and bring new fans to the game. The five teams will begin competition in November at the custom-built, tech-infused SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
WTGL’s five founding teams are:
* Atlanta Drive GC: Nataliya Guseva, Charley Hull, Andrea Lee, Minjee Lee and Yuka Saso
* Boston Common Golf: Céline Boutier, Chizzy Iwai, Megan Khang, Lottie Woad and Ina Yoon
* Los Angeles Golf Club: Aki Iwai, Alison Lee, Gaby Lopez, Kiara Romero and Michelle Wie West
* Motor City Golf Club: Brooke M. Henderson, Jeeno Thitikul, Lexi Thompson, Ruoning “Ronni” Yin and Albane Valenzuela
* New York Golf Club: Linn Grant, Danielle Kang, Lydia Ko, Yana Wilson and Rose Zhang
Fans can get a closer look at the players, teams and storylines shaping the inaugural season during a special roster reveal show premiering on YouTube.
Jeeno, the women’s World No. 2 and 10-time LPGA Tour winner, will represent Motor City Golf Club alongside close friend and China’s World No. 8, Yin, 11-time LPGA Tour winner Lexi Thompson, two-time major champion Brooke Henderson and upcoming Albane Valenzuela.
“I’m very excited to be part of the inaugural season of WTGL. The team format, fast pace and technology can introduce golf to a new generation of fans while giving them a fresh way to see our personalities,” said Jeeno.
“I love the mix of talent and personalities on our team. I’m especially excited to play with Ruoning again. We won a team event together in Michigan in 2024, so we already know how to have fun and compete together.”
Yin, who won her sixth LPGA Tour title on Sunday, said: “WTGL is a great opportunity for me and for women’s golf. I have always enjoyed team competition, and this format will give us a fun way to showcase our games and personalities while introducing new fans to the sport.”
Filipino-Japanese Saso, winner of the U.S. Women’s Open in 2021 and 2024, said: “Rory McIlroy has been one of my favourite players for a long time, so I followed what he helped create with TGL. I am excited that WTGL will now give LPGA players the opportunity to compete in that environment and bring our own personalities and style to the format.”
On representing Atlanta Drive GC, she added: “Atlanta Drive GC has already shown how strong a team can be when players with different styles work together. Charley, Nataliya, Andrea and Minjee are all great competitors, and I am excited to learn from them, support them and compete for Atlanta.”
The 23-year-old Yoon, who finished in the top-five at two majors – the Chevron Championship and Women’s PGA Championship – this season, will represent Boston Common Golf alongside World No. 6 Lottie Woad (England), Megan Khang (United States), seven-time LPGA Tour winner Céline Boutier (France) and Chizzy Iwai (Japan).
Yoon said: “Screen golf is a big part of golf culture in Korea, and it is also where my own golf story began. I first became interested in golf when I went to an indoor screen golf facility with my father. SoFi Center is unlike any other screen in the world. Competing in the inaugural season of WTGL now feels like a full-circle moment, and I am excited to share it with fans in Korea and around the world.”
Rufus Hack, president, golf at TMRW Sports, said: “WTGL will combine teams of world-class LPGA Tour stars with the energy of fans inside SoFi Center to create a thrilling new experience for women’s golf. The five teams will go head-to-head throughout November and December, creating a consistent spotlight for women’s team golf and giving fans a new way to see the players’ personalities, competitive instincts and decision-making as teammates. With the rosters now set, the teams’ identities and rivalries can begin to take shape.”
The 25 players announced for WTGL have a combined 112 LPGA Tour victories and 15 major championships and includes eight of the top 15 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
COMPETITION AND TEAM STRUCTURE:
WTGL features five teams competing in a round-robin regular season where every match carries postseason implications, building to the Playoffs: single-elimination Semifinals and a best-of-three Finals. Like the best team sports, the format is simple to follow — two teams enter, and roughly two hours later, one leaves the winner. Each team is built on a balanced five-player roster, assembled in partnership with team ownership groups, players and their representatives to align with the LPGA Tour and offseason schedules. Three players from each roster compete in every match, putting a premium on strategy and lineup decisions.
WTGL’s competition was purpose-built to showcase the power, precision and strategic decision-making of the world’s best women golfers. LPGA performance data informed the hole distances and design elements, creating a variety of shot shapes and risk-reward decisions. The fast-paced format combines mic’d-up access, strategic use of the Hammer, shot-clock pressure and real-time performance data and analytics, giving fans new insight into the athletes’ talent, personalities and decision-making as teammates. As with other team sports, the objective is simple: Two teams compete head-to-head, and approximately two hours later, one emerges as the winner.
Fans can be the first to receive WTGL announcements, including the inaugural season schedule, how to buy tickets and where to watch by signing up for updates at wtglgolf.com.
