CNN
—
The Atlanta Drive beat The Bay Golf Club on Tuesday to set up a clash against the New York Golf Club in the inaugural TGL Finals Series.
The Drive – made up of Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Billy Horschel – prevailed 9-3 at SoFi Center, beating Shane Lowry, Ludvig Åberg and Min Woo Lee of The Bay GC.
Atlanta now advances for a best-of-three series against New York Golf Club – comprised of Rickie Fowler, Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele – in the finals, with Match 1 taking place at 9 p.m. ET on Monday. Match 2 will be held at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday with Match 3, if necessary, taking place later that day.
“They (New York) obviously are starting to play well at the right time,” Thomas said afterwards, per the TGL website. “I like our team and I like our chances. I’m excited. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
With a spot in the finals on the line, it turned out to be a fairly one-sided affair between the two star-studded lineups. The Bay were hampered before the match began though when Wyndham Clark was ruled out with a neck injury after a stellar regular season in which he led most statistical categories.
Atlanta – cheered on by some famous faces in the form of former Braves third baseman Chipper Jones and former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick – raced into an early behind some error-free play.
By the time the game had reached the par-3 12th hole, Atlanta held a 5-2 lead and the team threw the Hammer – making the hole worth double points – in an attempt to clinch the victory.
World No. 12 Cantlay stepped up in the big moment, his tee shot landing approximately four feet from the cup before he stepped up to make the putt and seal the win with three holes left to play.
As a result, Atlanta were able to enact revenge on The Bay who handed them their only defeat of the TGL season.
“Our team’s played well most every match,” Cantlay said afterwards, per the TGL website. “We’ve had a lot of close matches and hit shots when we needed to, just like tonight. We’ll take that into next week and I think we’re all excited for the final.”
TGL co-founder Rory McIlroy – who remained in Florida after winning The Players Championship on Monday – joined the broadcast midgame and expressed how sad he was to be missing out in the crunch time of the debut season of the new venture after his Boston Common Golf squad missed out on the postseason.
“Shane (Lowry) was talking about Wyndham having FOMO (fear of missing out),” McIlroy said. “I’m certainly having a lot of FOMO. I wish I was out there playing instead of watching.”
The TGL – co-founded by McIlroy and Tiger Woods – is in its debut season and has been broadcast on ESPN. The virtual nature and the 1,500-capacity stadium it will be hosted in is aimed at attracting a younger audience.