Some players are just made for the spectacle that is TGL’s indoor golf, and Billy Horschel is at the top of that list. Horschel has eight PGA Tour wins and two top-10 finishes in majors last year, but he seems more fired up about TGL than pretty much anything he’s ever done in outdoor golf. He fired up his Atlanta Drive GC team along the way, claiming a 6-5 victory and a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-three TGL finals.
Both teams posted upsets in the semifinal round to reach the best-of-three finals matches, Atlanta over Shane Lowry and The Bay, New York over Collin Morikawa and Los Angeles. On Monday, Horschel, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay of Atlanta jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, winning two of the first four holes. But Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Cam Young of New York immediately won the fifth and sixth, sending the match to singles tied at 2. And that’s when matters took a turn in New York’s favor.
Thomas’ approach flared out wide from the hole, but Young stuck his to within 9 feet. New York threw its first hammer of the night, doubling the point value of the hole. So when Young rolled in the putt, New York took a quick 4-2 lead.
It wouldn’t last. Horschel stepped up and outplayed Fowler on the 11th, throwing the hammer and then throwing down a 12-foot putt. Horschel then proceeded to celebrate like Tiger Woods at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey, fist-pumping and shouting his way through an exuberant celebration that will be shown on highlight shows as long as there’s a TGL.
Ryder Cup pals Schauffele and Cantlay split the 12th, sending the match to the final three holes tied at 4. On the 13th, Thomas missed a putt from inside 8 feet, perhaps distracted by a hammer thrown too late. Young, inside 4 feet, didn’t miss, putting New York up one with two holes to play. Horschel and Fowler both dropped their tee shots on the par-3 14th within 9 feet — Horschel was within 5 — and Thomas threw the hammer to put pressure on Fowler. The move worked; Fowler declined the hammer and Atlanta claimed the putt.
That brought the entire match down to the final hole and Schauffele vs. Cantlay. Both players ended up with about 6 feet left to the hole to claim it. Cantlay, putting first, drained his putt, forcing Schauffele into a must-make for the match. Schauffele’s rimmed just off the edge of the cup, and Atlanta claimed the first of the best-of-three series.
The second match of the championship will tee off on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. If necessary, a third and final match will take place immediately afterward at 9 p.m. And then we’ll pass judgment on whether the inaugural TGL season was a success. We already know what Horschel thinks.