TGL President's Day tripleheader recap

As TGL approaches the midway point of its inaugural season and the PGA Tour season gets underway, TGL decided to feed the diehard fans by giving them a Presidents’ Day tripleheader.

Before these matches, they also decided to spice things up by changing the rules of “The Hammer.” As of Monday’s first match, teams now have three “Hammers” to start the match and can make a hole worth three points if both throw it down.

Monday’s tripleheader would be the showcase of these new rules, as well as two matches for both Atlanta and The Bay, as well as appearances by LA and Boston.

Match 1: Atlanta vs. Los Angeles

The match between Atlanta (Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel) and Los Angeles (Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Sahith Theegala) started off uneventful, with both teams tying on the first two holes. After that, however, the fireworks began.

Los Angeles would take hole three, with Atlanta firing back and taking hole four after throwing a “Hammer” that was declined by Los Angeles. A missed putt by Theegala on a “Hammer” throw by Los Angeles would result in a tie on the fifth. Atlanta would then make it 2-1 after winning the sixth.

Los Angeles came alive after that sixth hole, winning four of the next five holes (two holes in triples, back-to-back wins to start singles). Going into the 13th hole, Atlanta found themselves at a 5-2 deficit late in the match. That was until Atlanta’s new favorite chain-wearer Billy Horschel threw another “Hammer” to start his match against Justin Rose, which was accepted by Los Angeles.

Horschel would win the hole by securing a birdie after a clutch bunker shot that left him just two feet on his winning putt. The 14th would end in a tie, putting Atlanta’s hopes of sending it to overtime on Thomas.

After duffing his third shot on the par five 15th, Thomas needed to hole out from 20 feet to beat Theegala and send it to overtime, so of course he showed his love for the theatrics and holed it, which tied it for Atlanta.

Horschel led off overtime with a beauty of a shot, putting it two feet and three inches closer than Rose, giving Atlanta the lead early. Thomas followed him with another dart, putting his shot seven feet from the hole. Fleetwood then did the unthinkable by holing out and tying it at one.

After Theegala hit his shot to 12 feet, Cantlay walked it off by hitting his shot seven feet closer, giving Atlanta the win.

Match 2: Atlanta vs. The Bay

Atlanta’s second match lineup consisted of both Thomas and Cantlay again but Lucas Glover instead of Horschel. The Bay however came out with an all-star team. 2023 U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark had a supporting cast of Ludvig Aberg, coming off of his win at the Genesis Invitational this past weekend and Min Woo Lee, an exciting young player on the PGA Tour making his TGL debut.

After taking holes two and three, The Bay was off to a hot start by giving themselves a 2-0 lead. Lee then showed the crowd what he’s made of on the fourth by chipping in for an eagle to give The Bay a 3-0 lead.

Atlanta showed in the first match that they were equipped to make comebacks and supported that by throwing a “Hammer” on the par three fifth hole to attempt to mount another. The attempt would be successful, with Justin Thomas sinking a 13-footer to cut into The Bay’s lead, making it 3-2.

Both teams would conclude triples by winning one more hole a piece, leaving the score at 4-3 heading into halftime. The first match out of halftime was Cantlay versus Clark, a matchup that Clark would win by making birdie versus Cantlay’s par.

On hole 12, Thomas would yet again play hero golf against Lee, throwing a “Hammer” to start the hole. Thomas left himself just seven feet for birdie on the par three while Lee missed the green and had to settle for par which led to a win for Atlanta, knotting it at 5-5.

Clark would then also win the 13th hole, giving The Bay a 6-5 lead. After a tie on the 14th, the pressure was yet again on Justin Thomas to send Atlanta to overtime. On the green of the 15th, Thomas had a 22-foot bender putt that looked impossible to make for the win. He gave it all his effort, just missing the tying putt by a mere two feet, giving The Bay the win.

Match 3: The Bay vs. Boston

The Bay traded Lee out for Shane Lowry, while Boston had Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley and TGL rookie (but also 12-year PGA veteran) Hideki Matsuyama, two of which have won a tournament so far this PGA season.

Triples would be relatively uneventful, with both teams winning a “Hammer” hole and The Bay taking one extra to take it into halftime at 3-2. Singles started with a bang, As Keegan Bradley would take the first hole from Shane Lowry, tying it up at three.

In the most anticipated matchup of the night, Aberg would get the best of McIlroy in their first match after draining a 15-foot putt, giving The Bay the lead. Bradley would then re-tie the match the very next hole.

In their next match, McIlroy would put himself in the driver’s seat, sinking a nine-foot putt for birdie. He would then throw Boston’s final “Hammer” to put the pressure on Aberg to sink a six-footer to tie the hole. Aberg showed he was ready for the pressure, tying the hole to yet again send a match to the final hole.

All day, Clark was clamoring for his epic moment in a TGL match and he got it on the 15th. Matsuyama, who had been quiet to this point, sank a birdie putt, putting pressure on Clark to keep the match from going to overtime with his eagle putt.

Clark sank the nine-foot putt he had left for eagle, winning the match for The Bay and giving them their second win of the day.

The President’s Day TGL tripleheader didn’t disappoint, with all three matches going down to the wire and the new “Hammer” rule being used to its fullest extent. Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links will face the New York Golf Club on Tuesday night to add even more TGL fun to an already packed week.

Dylan Sechrist is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email dks5749@psu.edu.