TGL presented by SoFi logo in a horizontal format
Sign Up
 News 
Presidents Day Tripleheader Preview: New Hammer Rules
February 06, 2025
NewsLos Angeles Golf ClubBoston Common GolfAtlanta Drive GCThe Bay Golf Club

Share

Alpine is a long par 4 that will likely require 210-plus-yard second shots into the green.
Related Content

Get your popcorn ready and settle in – there's a whole lot of golf coming up Monday as part of a Presidents Day Tripleheader in TGL presented by SoFi.

Several players are set to make their SoFi Center debuts as some of the top teams in the league head to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. for the all-day extravaganza that will see key movement with teams jockeying for postseason position.

Atlanta Drive GC and Los Angeles Golf Club get things started at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN, followed by Atlanta vs. The Bay Golf Club at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN. TV coverage will switch for the final match of the night, with The Bay taking on Boston Common Golf at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

All matches are also available to stream on ESPN+.

TV & STREAMING: How To Watch TGL In Your Country

New Hammer Rules

There's been some changes. In TGL, every hole is worth one point unless the Hammer is played. That much remains true.

And it's also the case that the team with the most points at the end of the match wins.

But starting Monday, each team will begin the match with three Hammers. Playing the Hammer raises the stakes of a hole by one point when played and accepted. Teams can only throw the Hammer once on a given hole but are otherwise free to use them at any point in the match to up the ante.

The maximum number of points on offer per hole is now 3 (should each team throw a Hammer that is accepted by their opponent). The new rules mean each team will always get the opportunity to throw the Hammer during a match.

As before, teams can decline the Hammer but by doing so concede the hole and the points on offer. However, teams can’t decline the Hammer when it is thrown before the first tee shot on a given hole.

TGL 101: Everything you need to know about season 1

Atlanta Drive Golf Club vs. Los Angeles Golf Club

Lineups

Atlanta Drive Golf Club: Billy Horschel, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas

Los Angeles Golf Club: Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Sahith Theegala

Playing Order Reveal

Here’s the order in which players will tee off for their teams:

Triples
Singles

SoFi Cup Standings

Atlanta vs. Los Angeles: This is a huge match for both teams in the SoFi Cup Standings. Los Angeles already has a two-point lead over the rest of the league with a pair of wins and can gain some real separation with a third straight victory. Meanwhile, Atlanta pitched a shutout in its 4-0 win over New York and can enter a two-way for first place with a win over Los Angeles.

Singles Matchups

Billy Horschel vs. Justin Rose: Rose has been great on the greens and leads TGL with 7 of 13 putts made. But Horschel impressed for Atlanta in their only match of the season so far.

Patrick Cantlay vs. Tommy Fleetwood: Cantlay has the distance advantage, though Fleetwood hasn’t missed a fairway yet. We’ll see if length or accuracy wins the day at Alpine, the par-4 11th.

Justin Thomas vs. Sahith Theegala: Both players have been bringing the energy and this should be a fun matchup, concluding at the 729-yard, par-5 Quick Draw, which plays to both of their strengths.

The Course

HOLE DESIGNS: Check out the full library of TGL holes

Atlanta Drive Golf Club vs. The Bay Golf Club

Lineups

Atlanta Drive Golf Club: Patrick Cantlay, Lucas Glover, Justin Thomas

The Bay Golf Club: Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Åberg, Min Woo Lee

Playing Order Reveal

Here’s the order in which players will tee off for their teams:

Triples
Singles

Debuts For Min Woo, Glover

Atlanta vs. The Bay: Lee is in the lineup for The Bay for the first time alongside Clark and Åberg, while Glover makes his debut for Atlanta. It will be interesting to see how both teams choose to make use of their Hammers – The Bay only threw the Hammer once in its season opener while Atlanta didn’t use it at all in the win over New York.

Singles Matchups

Patrick Cantlay vs. Wyndham Clark: The 2023 Ryder Cup teammates go head-to-head at the par-5 Sterling and par-4 Temple. Those are challenging tee shots for two of the best drivers in TGL.

Lucas Glover vs. Ludvig Åberg: Glover makes his SoFi Center debut matched up with a player 20 years his junior, with Åberg holding a big distance advantage. But Glover’s experience advantage could pay dividends at The Plank, a 302-yard par-4, and Cliffhanger, a 189-yard Par 3.

Justin Thomas vs. Min Woo Lee: The 2024 Presidents Cup foes will see a nice variety with a short par-3 and a medium-length par-5. Thomas has been crushing the ball with an average driving distance of 320.7 yards in TGL, but Lee was actually longer off the tee on Tour last season.

The Course

HOLE DESIGNS: Check out the full library of TGL holes

The Bay Golf Club vs. Boston Common Golf

Lineups

The Bay Golf Club: Shane Lowry, Ludvig Åberg, Wyndham Clark

Boston Common Golf: Keegan Bradley, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama

Playing Order Reveal

Here’s the order in which players will tee off for their teams:

Triples
Singles

Hideki Makes First Appearance

The Bay vs. Boston: Welcome to TGL, Hideki Matsuyama. The 2021 Masters champion teams up with McIlroy and Bradley, with the trio combining to win all four major championships throughout their careers. The Bay has youth on its side with an average age of 31 years old, compared to 35 for Boston.

Singles Matchups

Shane Lowry vs. Keegan Bradley: Both players have struggled with accuracy early this season and face one of the toughest fairways to hit right out of the gate at Serpent. Lowry holds the longest drive thus far at their second Singles hole, The Plank.

Ludvig Åberg vs. Rory McIlroy: Talk about a stripe show. Bragging rights will certainly be at stake at No. 11, Alpine, which has seen the longest average drives of any hole in TGL and serves as a perfect Singles venue for two of the biggest hitters on the planet.

Wyndham Clark vs. Hideki Matsuyama: Clark went 1-0-1 in Singles his last time out, while Matsuyama is looking to impress his first time at SoFi Center. They'll get a full variety of shots in here at the 151-yard par-3, Craic On, and the 729-yard par-5, Quick Draw.

The Course

HOLE DESIGNS: Check out the full library of TGL holes

Tripleheader Course Overview

We’ll see two unique layouts for the Tripleheader, with the same course being utilized for Atlanta vs. Los Angeles and The Bay vs. Boston. Familiar favorites like On the Rocks, The Spear and Alpine are back in the mix as a trio of newcomers in Glover (Atlanta), Lee (The Bay) and Matsuyama (Boston) get their first crack at the rotation.

Hole Spotlight

Sterling, 571 Yards

Both layouts will see a new hole utilized in Sterling – a par-5 that will play at 554 yards on Monday as the fourth hole in Matches 1 and 3 and the 10th hole in the second match.

Shaped like a sword in a links environment, the fairway is split in two by a thin bunker running down the middle of the hole. There’s also a burn guarding the front of the green and players will have to think their way around this addition from start to finish.

NewsLos Angeles Golf ClubBoston Common GolfAtlanta Drive GCThe Bay Golf Club