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17 Mar, 2025
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What to watch as inaugural TGL postseason gets underway
@Source: espn.com
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.
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