We’re still relatively new with this whole team-golf thing, but it’s clear that some pro golfers thrive much more than others in a team-based environment. In their final regular-season match and the first of two Monday night TGL matches, LA Golf Club topped The Bay GC 3-1 in a match that had a whole lot more personality, showmanship and celebration than TGL had seen earlier in the season. Sahith Theegala, Tommy Fleetwood and Min Woo Lee, in particular, legitimately seemed to be enjoying themselves.
At stake Monday: the top seed in TGL’s inaugural playoffs. The benefit of that seed is that the three teams in the lower half of the TGL bracket — New York, Boston Common and Jupiter Links — have all struggled far more than the top three teams. Coming into the day, The Bay had not yet lost a match, going 4-0-0, while L.A. had three victories in regulation and one in overtime.
Early on, The Bay held a decided edge. Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark and Lee won Holes 3, 4 and 6 to leap out to a 3-0 lead over Theegala, Fleetwood and Collin Morikawa. The run featured a near-ace from Clark:
But L.A. evened up the match by winning the 9th on a declined hammer, and then claiming a double-hammer hole on the 10th. That hole, the first singles hole, saw Fleetwood top Lee after the latter’s wayward tee shot.
After Morikawa and Lowry split the 11th, L.A. claimed the 12th, and with it a 4-3 lead, when Theegala holed out from 20 feet to best Clark:
Lee appeared to wrestle momentum back for The Bay when his approach shot on the 13th rolled to within inches, but Fleetwood rolled in a 21-footer of his own to force a tie. Morikawa and Lowry again tied their hole, leaving Theegala and Clark for the final hole. Theegala forced Clark into a short miss on the 15th and final hole, claiming the match and the No. 1 overall seed for Los Angeles.
Still to come on Monday night: New York Golf Club looking to eliminate Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common GC from the playoffs entirely.
The inaugural TGL season is reaching the end of its run; with the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week and The Players Championship next week, the attraction of outdoor golf is growing. TGL has two weeks of tournaments remaining after Tuesday night’s final regular-season matchup, and at that point it will be just about time for the azaleas to bloom.
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