Atlanta Drive GC may have been the third-best team in the inaugural TGL season, but they flipped a switch in the playoffs to clinch the championship.
Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel and Patrick Cantlay – who all came off mixed appearances at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass – mounted an impressive comeback against New York Golf Club in the second match of the best-of-three Finals Series on Tuesday, winning 4-3 having trailed 3-0 through 11 holes.
Horschel’s clutch 18-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole proved to be the decisive moment, prompting wild celebrations as Atlanta took the lead for the first time over a New York team of Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young.
With the final hole ending in a tie, Atlanta was handed the SoFi Cup trophy by owner Arthur Blank, finishing the season with a 7-1 record.
“It’s really cool to be a part of something with these guys,” Horschel said afterwards, per TGL. “Team competitions are special. I’ve only been a part of one, the 2022 Presidents Cup.
“You hear the stories, you know how fun it is … Just being in something that is competitive, you feel the energy, you feel the nerves. It just brings you closer together.”
TGL, which stands for TMRW Golf League, is a stadium-based, technology-driven competition launched by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, along with NBC Sports’ former president of golf Mike McCarley, in January.
Six teams representing six cities competed in the inaugural season at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with players hitting tee and approach shots into a screen before transitioning to a green in the middle of the venue.
Atlanta took an early lead in the Finals Series with a 6-5 victory over New York on Monday, and the crucial win the following day saw the players split a purse of $9 million.
Despite falling to a 3-0 deficit after Schauffele’s birdie putt on the 10th, Atlanta still had three hammers – which enable a team to increase the value of hole by one point – and used them all effectively across the 12th, 13th and 14th holes.
New York declined to accept the first two hammers, cutting the team’s lead to a single point, before Horschel’s long putt snaked into the hole at the 14th to give Atlanta a dramatic lead.
“We did not want to go to another match,” Horschel said after the match, per Reuters. “We’re all just thrilled that we’re not playing right now.”
