The inaugural TGL season concludes with the playoffs, which tee off Monday at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Top-seeded Los Angeles Golf Club meets No. 4 seed New York Golf Club in the first semifinal on Monday, while No. 2 seed Bay Golf Club plays No. 3 seed Atlanta Drive GC in the second semifinal on Tuesday.
The winner of each semifinal matchup returns to SoFi Center the following week for a best-of-three finals for the SoFi Cup. The first finals match takes place on March 24 with the second and third (if necessary) coming the next day.
Los Angeles Golf Club’s Sahith Theegala anticipates the inaugural playoffs having plenty of action.
“The best thing is you’re never out of it, especially with the new hammer rules,” Theegala said. “It’s a game of runs. It really does feel like a college basketball game. That’s the closest thing I can describe it to. It doesn’t matter if you’re down 15 or 16 points [in basketball], one run and you’re right back in it. That’s how TGL matches feel.”
Semifinal No. 1: New York Golf Club (2-2-1) vs. Los Angeles Golf Club (4-0-1)
When: Monday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2/ESPN+)
New York Golf Club lineup
Xander Schauffele
Rickie Fowler
Cameron Young
Los Angeles Golf Club lineup
Collin Morikawa
Tommy Fleetwood
Sahith Theegala
Singles matches
Schauffele vs. Morikawa
Fowler vs. Fleetwood
Young vs. Theegala
It’s a rematch of the clubs’ dramatic overtime match on Feb. 24 when Los Angeles GC stormed back from a 4-0 deficit on the 12th hole and had only a 2% chance to win, according to TGL metrics.
Theegala made a 28-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole to get Los Angeles GC on the board. Tony Finau, who was playing on a one-match contract with LAGC because Fleetwood and Justin Rose were unavailable, picked up two points with a 9-foot birdie on the par-4 13th hole after New York GC threw the hammer.
On the par-3 14th hole, Morikawa hit his tee shot to six feet and drained a birdie putt to tie the score. Morikawa and Finau defeated Fowler and Matt Fitzpatrick in a closest-to-the-pin contest in an overtime session to win the match. Los Angeles GC clinched a playoff spot with the comeback victory.
“It’s been so fun,” Theegala said. “I think the thing that’s made us the most successful team so far is just our preparation. It feels like we probably practiced more than the other teams. Our schedules aligned and everybody on our team is so competitive. We just wanted to win and hated losing.”
Los Angeles GC won four of its five regular-season matches to clinch the No. 1 seed; its only defeat was a 6-5 setback to Atlanta Drive GC in overtime on Feb. 17. LAGC secured the top seed by knocking off previously unbeaten Bay Golf Club 5-3 on March 3.
After dropping its first two matches, New York GC won two of its past three to take the fourth seed in the playoffs. New York GC defeated Boston Common Golf 10-6 on March 3 to qualify for the playoffs. It also took down Jupiter Links GC 10-3 on Feb. 18.
Los Angeles GC leads TGL in total holes won (27) and singles holes won (13). Morikawa (3-0-5) and Fleetwood (3-0-3) haven’t dropped a singles match this season.
Fowler and Young are tied for second with 19 total points won; the Bay Golf Club’s Wyndham Clark (who had to withdraw from the Players Championship with a neck injury) is first with 26.
Semifinal No. 2: Atlanta Drive GC (4-1-0) vs. The Bay Golf Club (4-1-0)
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN, ESPN+)
Atlanta Drive GC lineup
Justin Thomas
Billy Horschel
Patrick Cantlay
The Bay Golf Club lineup
Shane Lowry
Min Woo Lee (replacing Wyndham Clark)
Ludvig Åberg
Singles matches
Thomas vs. Lowry
Horschel vs. Lee
Cantlay vs. Aberg
The clubs’ regular-season meeting in the Presidents Day tripleheader was one of the most exciting finishes in TGL’s inaugural season. Thomas nearly holed a long putt on the par-5 15th hole to send the match into overtime. He barely missed, giving The Bay a 6-5 victory and handing Atlanta Drive GC its only defeat of the season.
The Bay GC won’t have Clark for this match after he withdrew during in the second round of the Players Championship on Friday because of a neck injury. He will be replaced in the starting lineup by Min Woo Lee.
Lee was instrumental in The Bay’s victory over Atlanta Drive GC in his TGL debut on Feb. 17. He chipped in for eagle on the fourth hole to give the Bay a 3-0 lead. He also set a TGL ball speed record with 191 mph off the tee on No. 9. Lee leads the league in average driving distance (332 yards) and is second in fairways hit (90.9%).
Clark has been the most consistent golfer in TGL this season. Along with leading the league in total points won, he is first with 21 triples points won and tied for first with five singles points won.
The teams are evenly matched as both ranked first or second in birdies or better, strokes gained: total, around the green and putting and scrambling.
“I think we kind of fill in each other’s gaps, both in golf and personality-wise,” Thomas said. “We obviously mesh pretty well. We’ve had a nice run.”
With Aberg, Clark and Lee on the team, it’s no surprise that The Bay leads TGL in nearly every driving statistic, including average distance off the tee (319.7 yards) and fairways hit (76%).
Thomas leads TGL in strokes gained: putting (+2.79), feet of putts made (101) and putts made of 12 feet or longer (four).
“I think at the end of the day, although it’s a different style of golf, it’s still golf,” Thomas said. “You have to play better and hit the shots properly. Obviously, it’s more enjoyable when you’re winning matches, so hopefully we can make a run and win the first year’s SoFi Cup.”
Finals schedule
March 24: Match 1, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2/ESPN+)
March 25: Match 2, 7 p.m. ET; Match 3, 9 p.m. ET* (ESPN/ESPN+)
* if necessary
