With his team down in the second match of a best-of-three series, Atlanta star Billy Horschel went over to chat with his young daughter Colbie, who gave him a quick pep talk.
“You’re better in single points,” she said before giving her dad a kiss.
Horschel used that magic to do something special.
Horschel followed by draining a long, winding putt to give the fledgling TGL golf circuit its best moment of the year, pushing Atlanta Drive GC to a come-from-behind victory to take the inaugural SoFi Cup and a $9 million grand prize.
Atlanta defeated New York 6-5 on Monday night in the first match of the best-of-three TGL Finals Series at the SoFi Center. Patrick Cantlay secured the winning point against Xander Schauffele on the final singles hole after Schauffele’s tying putt lipped out of the cup.
But after trailing the whole night on Tuesday, Horschel drilled a huge putt on the 14th hole, and the University of Florida product was fired up, throwing his hat after giving Atlanta a 4-3 edge on a hole in which they had used a Hammer.
“I think I said some expletives. I think I said something about this being my house,” Horschel said. “This is fun. This is absolutely exciting.”
Atlanta pulls it to 3-2
After Xander Schauffele knocked one just into the bunker on the 13th hole, a par 3, Atlanta threw its second hammer before Justin Thomas even hit his tee shot. Even though JT had failed to hit an approach shot this far, New York declined the hammer and the score is now 3-2.
Schauffele on the strategy:
“We each have one Hammer now and we have a one-shot lead, so it’s a much better spot than just rolling the dice there,” Schauffele said.
Is TGL expansion happening soon? And who owns TGL franchises?
All signs point to TGL expansion happening sooner than later, especially in light of that fact that team owners or partners who have attended at least one match reach across all four major sports, including those from the Ravens, Lions, Vikings, New York Giants, Kraken, Maple Leafs, Rockies and a former owner of the Raptors. The exclusive fraternity already invested includes Falcons owner Arthur Blank (Atlanta Drive), John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group (Boston Common), Mets owner Steve Cohen (New York Golf Club), former Bucks owner Marc Lasry (The Bay Golf Club) and David Blitzer, who has had a stake in six professional sports teams and joined with Woods’ group that owns Jupiter Links.
There’s also talk of a West Coast facility being added.
“We really like those team owners that are operators of other sports teams and other professional leagues in their communities,” said TMRW Sports founder Mike McCarley. “But we got a lot of really interesting diverse people domestically and internationally. They can kind of take a look and see what it looks like going forward.”
New York takes 3-0 lead
Although Atlanta players insisted they were happy just to be down 2-0 before the start of singles play, New York added onto the lead on No. 10 as Xander Schauffele dropped a short putt and Justin Thomas missed a longer one to make it a 3-0 edge.
Reminder: If New York wins this match, we’re playing a winner-take-all match later tonight.
Hammer controversy on No. 8
It took seven holes, but there’s finally a point on the board. Atlanta’s Billy Horschel failed to get cleanly out of a bunker and New York won the hole to take a 1-0 lead.
On the next hole, however, controversy struck when Justin Thomas was about to address the ball on a putt, and Xander Schauffele threw the Hammer. It took a ruling, but it was determined that the hammer stood. Atlanta declined the Hammer and New York won a point to go up 2-0.
Need a little background on what the Hammer is? This tutorial will help.
No score through first six holes
Things get a little tighter when a title is on the line. Both sides have missed putts through the first five holes and the score is still 0-0 as the players start the sixth hole. This marks the first time a TGL match has gone past the fourth hole without a point being scored.
On the sixth hole, both Fowler and Horschel barely missed putts, meaning goose eggs remained on the scoreboard through a half-dozen holes.
Horschel in water, but no damage done (no score after two)
On the first hole, Patrick Cantlay’s putt just missed, so nobody earned any points, but on the second hole, one of the heroes of Monday night, Billy Horschel, knocked his drive in the water, opening the door for New York to score early. Rickie Fowler backed off and made the par-5 Spear a three-shotter.
However, Xander Schauffele knocked a wedge into the bunker and Cameron Young couldn’t cash in, missing a nine-footer that would have given New York two points.
Keegan Bradley said he was ‘shaking like it was a major’
The pressure of playing in these matches has been significant for PGA Tour players who are used to dealing with big stages. U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley joined Scott Van Pelt on the ESPN warm-up show from the SoFi Center. Bradley, whose Boston Common team failed to get a victory in the league’s debut season, said
“I had a putt that was four or five feet and my hands were shaking like it was a major,” Bradley said. “It shocked me to be honest.”
TGL starting lineups for Atlanta Drive, NYGC tonight
TGL teams pick three of their four members to participate in each match. Here’s a look at today’s lineups:
- Atlanta Drive: Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel, Patrick Cantlay (out: Lucas Glover)
- NYGC: Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young (out: Matt Fitzpatrick)
TGL golf format, how the league works
For those watching their first match because it’s the final, here’s how things work: Session 1 is nine holes of “Triples,” three vs. three team alternate shot. Session 2 is six holes of “Singles,” a head-to-head competition where each competitor plays two holes.
Holes are worth one point each, and the team with the fewest shots on a hole wins the point. Ties are worth 0 points. If a match is all square at the end of the 15 holes, players will compete head-to-head until a team hits two shots closer to the pin than its competitors.
How to watch TGL today
- Who: Atlanta Drive GC vs. New York Golf Club
- When: 7 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 25
Match 2 of the TGL finals is set to begin at 7 p.m. If the series is split, the deciding Match 3 will begin immediately afterward.
What channel is TGL golf on today?
- TV channel: ESPN
- Live streaming: ESPN+ | Fubo (free trial)
TGL schedule
- Tonight: Finals, Atlanta vs. NYGC | Match 2 and 3*, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.*, ESPN
- *- if necessary
Read the full article here
