Disc Golf Returning to ESPN Networks Amid Surge in Interest

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“Official Virtual Reality Golf Game of the PGA TOUR” to integrate PGA TOUR tournament courses into GOLF+ beginning with TPC Scottsdale and TPC Sawgrass early in 2023 PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR and GOLF+, the leading VR golf game in the world, today announced a long-term deal that makes GOLF+ the “Official Virtual Reality Golf Game of the PGA TOUR.” The agreement will also see the creation of new PGA TOUR game experiences where GOLF+ players will be able to experience exclusive, interactive content and features tied to real-world PGA TOUR tournaments. Using a Meta Quest VR headset, GOLF+ users will be able to compete on select TPC Network golf courses and other PGA TOUR tournament courses beginning with TPC Scottsdale and TPC Sawgrass early in 2023. These in- game PGA TOUR experiences will offer players exclusive tournament competition within the game. Additional tournament courses will be added in the coming years to join the GOLF+ roster of world-class venues. “The PGA TOUR is excited to work with GOLF+, the leading golf game in the emerging VR gaming market,” said Len Brown, PGA TOUR Chief Legal Officer, and EVP, Licensing. “The GOLF+ VR platform is a forward-thinking way to enjoy the sport that is appealing to gamers and golfers of all levels, and an innovative way for people to play the game of golf and grow the sport globally. The TOUR will support the partnership with new courses, ShotLink powered by CDW data, shot trails and video highlights from PGA TOUR competitions.” GOLF+ will have rights to use PGA TOUR marks, rights to advertise within TOUR media and TOUR partner platforms, plus content and video rights allowing GOLF+ to create unique, in-game experiences. “We look forward to working with the PGA TOUR as it provides the ability to present unparalleled interactive tournament experiences to our players in VR,” said Ryan Engle, Co-Founder and CEO of GOLF+. “We are both committed to using innovative technology and interactive experiences to reach new golfers worldwide and grow the game we love.” Golfers and other athletes who have joined GOLF+ as investors include Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, World Golf Hall of Famer Ben Crenshaw, Tom Brady, Steph Curry and Mike Trout. “Beyond providing one of the best VR sports experiences in the world, GOLF+ will now offer a new way for fans to enjoy the excitement of the PGA TOUR,” said Rory McIlroy. “This technology has the power to not only bring new people to the game of golf, but also evolve the way the PGA TOUR is seen and experienced by golfers and gamers everywhere.” “When I was a kid, I always dreamed of making it to the PGA TOUR and testing my game inside the ropes against the best players in the world,” added Jordan Spieth. “It’s great that fans and future TOUR pros are going to be able to use this platform to get a taste for what it’s like to compete on the PGA TOUR.” Designed to be complementary to traditional golf, the GOLF+ VR experience removes typical barriers such as time constraints, greens fees and weather to allow users to play anywhere, anytime. For those who have never picked up a club in the real world, it offers a stress-free way to learn, play and practice at their own pace. Avid golfers can enjoy realistic physics and life-like recreations of some of the most iconic courses in the world. In less than a year since launch, the platform’s hundreds of thousands of golfers have played over six million rounds on the platform. GOLF+ is currently available on the Meta Quest 2 platform for $29.99. The game comes standard with original course designs, Topgolf, and a mini golf experience called Pro Putt. Players can add the famed Pebble Beach, Pinehurst No.2, The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island and Wolf Creek Golf Club as in-app purchases. GOLF+ allows for both single-player and multiplayer options, making it ideal for solo practice or a social round.

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Four of the most exciting players in the game today – Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Matthew Wolff and Rickie Fowler – will usher in golf’s unofficial return to action Sunday at Seminole Golf Club with the TaylorMade Driving Relief charity skins match. On paper, casual fans may see this matchup as a bit lopsided. If you only compare the career resumes, that’s undoubtedly the case: Rory and DJ have combined for 38 PGA TOUR wins and 192 weeks at world No. 1. Rickie and Matthew’s added totals are six wins and zero weeks in the top spot. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | How to watch: TaylorMade Driving Relief But a closer look at the numbers says that these two teams aren’t all that far apart. 15th Club took the strokes gained data from every PGA TOUR event since Wolff turned professional and compared the performances of the four players at a granular, detailed level. There are 151 different players with 30 or more ShotLink-measured rounds since Matthew’s pro debut at the 2019 Travelers Championship. Here’s how the two sides match up statistically during that span. Off The Tee ADVANTAGE: McILROY & JOHNSON The dream driving duo of Rory and DJ is almost impossible to top. In the time frame selected, Rory leads all players in average distance of all drives (307.6 yards), while Johnson is ranked fourth (305.7). McIlroy has averaged 0.90 strokes gained off the tee during that span, too, second-best on TOUR. Only Wolff’s old college teammate, Viktor Hovland, has a better number off the tee in that stretch (0.91 per round). That’s not to say Rickie and Matt will be blown off the course with the driver – both players are well above average in terms of distance. Wolff ranks 20th on TOUR in distance of all drives since turning pro (297.7 yards) while Fowler is 53rd (291.6). Wolff is also averaging more than one-third of a stroke gained off the tee, good for 34th of 151 players. Approach Play ADVANTAGE: McILROY & JOHNSON Although Rory and DJ get the nod here, it isn’t a large gap between the teams. DJ has uncharacteristically struggled with his iron play in recent months, averaging -0.33 strokes gained approach per round since last summer — ranked 134th of 151 players. For comparison’s sake, Collin Morikawa leads the TOUR in that stat during the time span, at 1.13 strokes gained approach per round. Rickie and Matt combine for a neutral performance, of sorts – when you combine the two, you get a number close to zero – no shots gained, or lost, to the field on approach play. Wolff has an average approach shot proximity of just under 35 feet since turning pro, best of these four players in that span. But thanks to Rory, ranked 14th on TOUR during this stretch, the DJ-McIlroy side has a slight advantage. Around The Green ADVANTAGE: PUSH Known throughout his career more for the longest club in his bag, has Rory become a savant around the greens, too? This is the third consecutive season McIlroy has been ranked in the top-20 on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green, a statistic he was outside the top-100 in back in 2010 when he broke through with his first win. And since last summer, he’s averaged 0.36 SG: Around-the-Green per round, 11th-best on TOUR in that span. While this statistical exercise is focusing on the time since Wolff turned pro, there’s history on the side of Rickie Fowler. In the 2016-17 season, Rickie had a sand save percentage of 68.7 percent, the best anyone had recorded on TOUR in 16 years. He ranked 15th on TOUR in strokes gained around the green just three seasons ago and was 11th in that statistic the season before that. This one is too close to call. Putting ADVANTAGE: FOWLER & WOLFF Rickie is averaging more than 80 feet of putts made per round since last summer, ninth-best on TOUR in that span and well ahead of the other three players Sunday. The 2017 TOUR leader in Strokes Gained: Putting, Fowler is statistically the strongest on the greens among these four. Putting is the worst ranking Rory has of the Strokes Gained categories in our selected time frame, but that isn’t saying much. McIlroy is averaging 0.43 strokes gained putting per round since last summer, putting himself firmly in the top-30 on TOUR. DJ, on the other hand, has struggled a bit with the putter in recent months. He’s lost, on average, about 0.31 strokes gained putting per round since last June – ranking 128th of 151 players. This is the area of the match where Fowler and Wolff can try to make up for their opponents’ advantage off the tee. Overall ADVANTAGE: McILROY & JOHNSON … narrowly Rory’s recent performance metrics are, unsurprisingly, reflective of the No. 1 player in the world and defending FedExCup champion and PGA TOUR Player of the Year. Since last summer, Rory leads the TOUR in Strokes Gained: Total, distance of all drives and Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. His Strokes Gained average in that stretch – 2.33 per round – is more than one-third of a shot better than anyone else in that span (Jon Rahm is second, at 1.98). Fans unfamiliar with Wolff’s game, though, are in for a treat this weekend. His unconventional swing has produced big results in fewer than 20 career TOUR starts. At last year’s 3M Open, he became the second-youngest winner on TOUR since World War II. Wolff is well above average in almost every Strokes Gained category since he ended his amateur career last June. McIlroy and Johnson are the rightful betting favorites, but the Oklahoma State Cowboys connection should not be ignored this weekend in Florida. Justin Ray is the Head of Content for data-driven 15th Club.

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