Archives for January 7, 2025

PALM BEACH GARDENS – (Staff Report from Official TGL News Release) – The Bay Golf Club’s Shane Lowry had the honor of the first shot in TGL history, but forgot to bring a tee to the hitting area to open the match. Following a laugh and a deep breath, the Irishman launched his tee shot into the massive simulator Screen, and it flew safely into the fairway, setting the inaugural season in motion Tuesday under the lights of the indoor SoFi Center in South Florida.

Lowry would go on to record the clinching point for The Bay Golf Club over New York Golf Club, besting Rickie Fowler in Singles at the par-5 10th to make it 7-1 and secure the victory for himself and teammates Wyndham Clark and Ludvig Åberg with five holes left. The remaining holes were played out for a final score of 9-2.

NYGC (0-1) fell behind on the first hole with Fowler, Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick looking on as Åberg drained a nine-foot birdie putt at The Plank for the early 1-0 lead. It was that kind of night for NY Golf Club, which found itself on the wrong side of an early two-point swing.

TBGC (1-0) began the match with the Hammer and held onto it for the first two holes. Then, with Clark feeling confident standing over a 7-foot birdie putt to win the par-3 third hole, Set in Stone, TBGC threw the Hammer to increase the point value of the hole to two points and show how quickly it can change the momentum in a match.

NYGC accepted and Clark drained the putt to give his team a 3-0 lead through three holes.

TBGC continued grinding out points with steady play and several spectacular highlights from Åberg. The 25-year-old Swede helped earn another point at the fourth hole, Boomerang, hitting his team’s third shot into the 582-yard par 5 to just four feet. Lowry made the birdie putt to put TBGC ahead, 4-0.

Åberg tacked on another at the par-3 fifth hole, Craic On, draining a 32-foot birdie putt to win the hole and make it 5-0 TBGC with 10 holes to play.

TBGC won its fourth consecutive hole with a stress-free par at the sixth, but NYGC finished strong in Triples thanks to a crafty chip from Fitzpatrick at The Spear, the par-5 ninth hole. That resulted in a conceded birdie and the first point on the board for NYGC with the score 6-1 entering Singles.

TBGC earned two points in the SoFi Cup Standings with the victory, while NY Golf Club will look to pick up its first point of the season in their next match.

NYGC returns to action at 7 p.m. on Jan. 21 against Atlanta Drive Golf Club, while The Bay looks to keep it rolling with two matches on Feb. 17 against Atlanta Drive (4 p.m.) and Boston Common Golf (7 p.m.) as part of a TGL tripleheader.

PALM BEACH GARDENS – (Staff Report from Official League Release) – It’s almost here. The first season gets underway when Shane Lowry takes the opening tee shot for The Bay Golf Club vs. New York Golf Club tonight.

But before the matches officially begin at SoFi Center, it is time for us to dig in and preview what the next three months of fun, fast-paced, prime time action are going to look like.

Six teams of world class players face off in 15-hole matches at SoFi Center, an indoor arena on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Florida on ESPN and ESPN+ from January-March.

The golf is played into a 64′ x 53′ screen that is 24 times larger than a standard golf simulator. Players will hit off of real grass fairways and rough, and play out of a unique sand that is only used at one other course, which happens to be located in the southeast United States.

Once players get their ball to the green, they move to the GreenZone, which includes a 41-yard-wide turntable green that can accommodate any number of hole designs created by TGL hole designers: Agustín Pizá, Beau Welling, and Nicklaus Design.

Every team will play five matches — the format of which we’ll get to in a moment — throughout the season and ahead of the playoffs at the end of March.

Let’s take a look at each of the six teams, starting with the Atlanta Drive GC.

Atlanta Drive GC

This team’s competitive nature will be off the charts. It’s a squad full of tremendous iron players who are hellbent on winning any game, match, or event they play.

Justin Thomas

J.T. is an amazing shot-shaper, and he should have the chance to show that off at every turn.

Patrick Cantlay

Cantlay has turned into a terrific match play player, which considering how good his tee-to-green game is, should be frightening for everyone else in the league.

Lucas Glover

One of the biggest flushers in the entire sport, and that should be fully on display at SoFi Center.

Billy Horschel

Perhaps the most competitive player on a team full of outrageously competitive players.

Boston Common Golf

The Ballfrogs may have the best chemistry of any team in the league. Scott and Matsuyama have been Presidents Cup pals for a long time, and McIlroy always seems to emerge as a team galvanizer wherever he plays.

Rory McIlroy

He is not only the best driver of the ball in the game but perhaps the best driver in the history of the game.

Hideki Matsuyama

One of the more underrated tee-to-green players of the last decade, Matsuyama should thrive on the creative hole setups. Just won at the 2025 Sentry.

Adam Scott

Even into his early 40s, Scott is still incredibly strong from tee to green.

Keegan Bradley

Along with Matsuyama, one of the more underrated tee-to-green players in modern golf.

Los Angeles Golf Club

If there was a most “fun” team in the league, this is it! These four seem to get more enjoyment out of playing professional golf than any other group.

Collin Morikawa

He is probably the most accurate player in the league from tee to green and given how creative some of these hole setups will be, that’s going to be extremely beneficial for LAGC.

Sahith Theegala

Theegala hits some truly magical golf shots on Tour and I expect he will hit plenty of them in his TGL matches. He also has some low-key power in reserve that he’ll use if needed.

Tommy Fleetwood

It would not be a stretch to call him the most underrated driver in the world.

Justin Rose

The former U.S. Open champion brings experience and some of the best iron play of the last 10 years of anyone in the world to this team.

New York Golf Club

NYGC just might have the most complete group of players of any team. It’s difficult to find anyone who has any glaring weaknesses and it will be fun to see them come together as a team.

Xander Schauffele

There’s a pretty good argument to be made that Schauffele is the most in-form player in the league with nine career wins on the PGA TOUR, including two majors last season, as well as 15 top-10 finishes.

Matt Fitzpatrick

At media day in early December, Wyndham Clark stressed the importance of doing pre-match work in order to take on some of the holes. Nobody in golf is more prepared than Fitzpatrick.

Rickie Fowler

Fowler has such a great all-around game. He can be put in almost any spot and thrive.

Cameron Young

Obviously a terrific driver of the ball, but Young is a net plus in the three other categories (iron play, around the green and putting), too.

The Bay Golf Club

This is the all-potential team. Three players in their 20s who crush driver and win all over the world, and they’ll be led at times by an Open champion in Lowry. It’s easy to see this being the team that chirps the most, as well.

Ludvig Åberg

He could be a future No. 1 player in the world.

Wyndham Clark

Where is the ceiling? Has he found it yet? Clark is awesome from tee to green and will put up some jaw-dropping numbers off the tee.

Shane Lowry

The all-everything guy on this team. He can do it all but should be especially valuable around the green.

Min Woo Lee

An amazing driver of the ball. If he dials in his approach play, he will be quite problematic for the rest of the league.

Jupiter Links GC

This is a fun team. There is legit talent at the top end of a variety of categories with two amazing iron players in Woods and Homa, a short game wizard in Kisner and somebody who does everything well in Kim.

Tiger Woods

He’s the best iron player in the history of the sport. And also, possibly, the best clutch putter.

Tom Kim

Reminds me a lot of Fowler at this age in that he does everything well. He’s not as long as Fowler was, but the floor is so high with Kim.

Max Homa

Elite-end iron play, and do not – I repeat, do not – let him get hot with the putter.

Kevin Kisner

Possibly the most consistent putter of anyone in the league over the last 10 years. Will it hold up on the So-Fi Center indoor green?