Justin Thomas played in his TGL debut to help Atlanta Drive GC to a convincing 4-0 win over New York Golf Club in their season opener.
Thomas lined up alongside fellow former FedExCup champions Billy Horschel and Patrick Cantlay for their first match in the new technology-infused team league, which sees PGA Tour stars go head-to-head in a purpose-built indoor arenas.
The two-time major champion saw his side lead from the opening hole and never trailed throughout the competition at the TGL Sofi Centre, where they claimed two points in the opening nine-hole session that uses an alternative stroke – or triple – format.
The Atlanta Drive won the first two singles holes and closed out a convincing victory, where the New York line-up of Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young became the first team to fail to score a point in a TGL match.
The win sees the Atlanta Drive claim two points and move joint top of the SoFi Cup standings, with New York bottom of the six-team league after a second straight loss and now struggling to qualify for the play-offs of the end of the season.
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Billy Horschel, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay dominated night three of TGL and celebrated in style!
Thomas leads Atlanta to winning start
New York GC immediately fell behind when Young hit his opening putt out of bounds and allowed Atlanta Drive to win the hole with a par, with Fitzpatrick then missing a putt from eight feet to tie the match in the next game.
Young also squandered a chance to win the third as the Atlanta Drive stayed ahead when Thomas recovered from a fumble and hit a fourth-down drive into the penalty area, draining a 25-footer to pull level.
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Justin Thomas hit two big shots for his TGL Atlanta Drive team when they faced New York Golf Club on night three.
Cantlay couldn’t convert the 15-foot putt to win the fifth, but saw his team double the lead in the sixth when Thomas hit his approach to six feet and Horschel kept the putt, with the half remaining tied holes in the triple session to leave the Atlanta Drive 2-0 by walking singles.
Young failed to get up and down to match Thomas’ birdie at the 10th, while Fitzpatrick conceded the 11th against Horschel after finding water at the second and then hitting his next two shots into bunkers.
Thomas holed another long putt for the 13th against Young, who had driven 360 yards and left his approach wide, while Fitzpatrick was unable to claim New York’s first point. York when he burned his bird-like appearance at 14. .
Atlanta Drive opted against using ‘The Hammer’ throughout the match, which gives a team the opportunity to put their opponents under pressure by doubling the hole value, with a close confirmed despite Cantlay’s missed birdie chance at bottom.
Need improvement from New York?
Fowler said, “We’ve just got to find a way to play better than the other team. We’ve been outplayed both times. I don’t think we’ve played too bad, except for our first hole.
“We got off to a rough start, but other than that, there’s no fault here. I missed buying a chip. Yeah, we dug a little hole, but I felt like we played well from there. But the big thing is that we’ve got to find a way to hit some shots.”
Young added: “I thought the match was really fun. Obviously it wasn’t the result we wanted, but I feel like it was the best golf I’ve seen from watching the other two matches and then ours tonight. It was a blast, and I think we will do better next time”.
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Luke Donald reflects on his experience watching TGL and discusses the similarities it has with the environment a player might face in the Ryder Cup.
What’s next?
Rory McIlroy will make his TGL debut on Monday when his Boston golf team takes on Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links Golf Club, who were defeated by Los Angeles GC in their season opener, coverage live from 11.30pm on Sky Sports Golf.
Atlanta Drive GC returns to action with two matches on February 17 against Los Angeles GC (6 p.m.) and The Bay Golf Club (9 p.m.), while New York GC will play on February 18 against Jupiter Links (February 19, 12 :00 UK time).
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