Rory McIlroy — who has earned over $150 million for his golf on the PGA Tour and beyond — is investing a sizable chunk of his career earnings into TickPick, a secondary ticketing marketplace.
Through his investment firm Symphony Ventures, based out of Ireland, McIlroy is partnering with Brighton Park Capital to make a $250 million acquisition of TickPick, which was founded in 2011. Symphony is listed as a strategic advisor, with Brighton Park expected to front most of the money, according to Front Office Sports. Bloomberg first reported the deal.
(The collective infusion amounts to the single largest fundraise in the history of the ticketing industry, per FOS.)
Here's what else to know.
Rory McIlroy's big investment
TickPick, a competitor of StubHub and SeatGeek, has sponsorship deals with the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Twins, and LaLiga in Spain. It's unclear if McIlroy's collaboration will directly lead to deals with the PGA Tour.
“[We’re] looking forward to seeing how we can leverage his personality, and his persona in general, to boost our brand,” TickPick co-founded Chris O’Brien told FOS.
The TickPick represents McIlroy's latest foray into the space. The four-time major winner and Tiger Woods co-founded TMRW Sports, a tech-driven sports, media, and entertainment company. TMRW Sports was recently valued at $500 million.
Article Continues BelowIn early 2025, TMRW — in partnership with the PGA Tour — will launch TGL, an arena-based tech-infused experimental golf league featuring six teams comprised of PGA Tour stars. The first three competitions will air on ESPN and ESPN+ in prime time slots in January.
Here are the TGL rosters, if you're curious:
- The Bay Club (San Francisco): Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Åberg, Shane Lowry, Min Woo Lee
- Atlanta Drive GC: Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Lucas Glover, Billy Horschel
- Boston Common Golf: McIlroy, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, Keegan Bradley
- Jupiter Links GC (Florida): Tiger Woods, Max Homa, Kevin Kisner, Tom Kim
- Los Angeles Golf Club: Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Sahith Theegala, Justin Rose
- New York Golf Club: Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young
Per FOS, McIlroy owns equity stakes, via Symphony, in other golf-related enterprises such as mini-golf chain Puttery, tee time/membership platform GolfPass, Golf+, a VR game, course management company Troon Golf, as well as wellness brands Hyperice and Whoop.
Meanwhile, back on the golf course, McIlroy — after an eventful, cruelly delayed first round — is currently 4-under par (T8) at the BMW Championship, the second leg of the playoffs. Instead of changing the narrative on a relatively ho-hum PGA Tour season, the three-time FedEx Cup champ finished second to last at the St. Jude Championship last week.
At time of writing, McIlroy is projected to finish fifth in the FedEx Cup standings. First place after the Tour Championship takes home $25 million.