Branded as TGL, the league is set to combine virtual golf with the real thing, being played at a purpose-built venue boasting a "data-rich, virtual course complete with a tech-infused, short-game complex".

Six teams, each containing three PGA Tour players, are due to play 15 matches in the regular season followed by semi-final and final contests.

Matches will last no more than two hours, be televised and offer spectators a "greenside fan experience" enriched by technology, it is promised.

TGL has been announced to coincide with the launch of big changes to the PGA Tour including extra elevated events which boast bumper prize money, a commitment from top players to compete in at least 20 PGA Tour events per year, an expansion to Player Impact Program funding and guaranteed league-minimum earnings for full PGA Tour members.

The moves can be seen as a direct response to Saudi-backed LIV Golf, which has attracted a number of leading PGA Tour players.

The PGA Tour has suspended all players who have taken part in LIV events.

TMRW Sports - established by American golfing great Woods and Northern Irishman McIlroy along with Mike McCarley - was only launched yesterday.

McCarley is a former Golf Channel President and was once NBC's senior vice-president of communications, marketing and promotions for sports and the Olympics.

"TGL is the next evolution within professional golf, and I am committed to helping lead it into the future," Woods claimed.

"Embracing technology to create this unique environment gives us the ability to move our sport into primetime on a consistent basis alongside so many of sports' biggest events. 

"As a big sports fan myself, I'm excited about blending golf with technology and team elements common in other sports. 

"We all know what it's like to be in a football stadium or a basketball arena where you can watch every play, every minute of action unfold right in front of you. It's something that inherently isn't possible in traditional golf - and an aspect of TGL that will set it apart and appeal to a new generation of fans."

Mcllroy said TGL was "taking a bold step into the increasingly tech-fueled future of sports".

McIlroy is a player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board and has been among LIV's harshest critics.

Woods turned down between $700 million (£576 million/€684 million) and $800 million (£659 million/€782 million) to join LIV, according to chief executive Greg Norman.

The first TGL season is due to launch in January 2024.

"A primetime experience featuring PGA Tour players will help attract a broader audience to our sport and the world's greatest players," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan added.