Two of the top teams in the league are set to go head-to-head with everything to play for Tuesday in a postseason Semifinals showdown in TGL presented by SoFi.
No. 2 seed The Bay Golf Club matches up with No. 3 seed Atlanta Drive GC at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, with the victor advancing to a best-of-three Final Series to determine the first-ever winner of the SoFi Cup.
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The Bay is coming off its first loss of the year, dropping out of the No. 1 spot after falling to Los Angeles Golf Club in the regular season finale. Atlanta secured its postseason spot with one match to go and didn’t let complacency creep in during a 9-1 win over Jupiter.
Whichever team emerges Tuesday will face the winner of No. 1 Los Angeles Golf Club vs. No. 4 New York Golf Club in the Finals Series March 24-25 at SoFi Center.
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Lineups
Atlanta Drive GC: Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel, Patrick Cantlay
The Bay Golf Club: Shane Lowry, Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Ã…berg
Playing Order Reveal
Here’s the order in which players will tee off for their teams:
TRIPLES
SINGLES
3 Things to Know
Strength on Strength: One thing about this Atlanta squad – they step it up in crunch time. Atlanta finished the regular season with 18 Singles points won, most in the league. That’s 10 more than The Bay, which ranked fourth with eight Singles points. TBGC does its best work in Triples, finishing first in TGL with 17 Triples holes won and 21 Triples points.
Marquee Matchup: We’ll get to see two of the top players in the league go head-to-head down the stretch, with Atlanta’s Billy Horschel and The Bay’s Wyndham Clark both slotted second for Singles. Clark leads TGL in several individual categories, including holes and points won, strokes gained total and strokes gained off the tee. But no player has been better in Singles than Horschel, who is 5-1-2 with a league-best eight Singles points.
Bombs Away: Distance won’t be a problem for either team Tuesday night. This match features three of the five longest hitters in the league, including two for The Bay. Clark averages 328.3 yards off the tee while Åberg isn’t far behind at 324.5 yards. Thomas held it down for Atlanta with an average driving distance of 324.6 yards. It’s safe to say we’re not expecting a cautious approach from either team on the five par 5s.
Singles Matchups
Justin Thomas vs. Shane Lowry: Two of the more entertaining players around, Thomas and Lowry have traded plenty of jabs and shots over the years in Ryder Cups and major championships. They get Singles going at No. 10, the par-5 Serpent, where Thomas holds the longest putt made at 25 feet. They conclude at Straight Up, a mid-length par 4 that’s seen players hit the green just 58.33% of the time.
Billy Horschel vs. Wyndham Clark: This is a big-time showdown and we can’t wait to see how Horschel and Clark match up. Horschel has been a touch better on the green but Clark has the advantage off the tee at the par-4 No. 11 hole, The Claw. No. 13, On the Rocks, is all about rising to the occasion at the short par 3.
Patrick Cantlay vs. Ludvig Ã…berg: Triples concludes with World No. 5 Ã…berg taking on No. 17 Cantlay in a showdown we expect to see in Ryder Cups for many years to come. Ã…berg will have good memories at No. 12, Craic On, where he holed a 32-foot putt in the first match of the season. Cantlay has more SoFi Center experience and that could come into play at the final hole, the par-5 Sterling.
The Course
The second semifinal will feature the same course layout used in Monday’s playoff match, so we’re guessing both teams will be tuned in and watching closely.
HOLE DESIGNS: Check out the full library of TGL holes
There are some seriously tough holes included – while players have hit the fairway at the par-4 6th, Alpine, at a 90.9% clip, they’re only hitting the green in regulation 45.5% of the time. The par-4 14th, Straight Up, has proved challenging from tee-to-green, with fairway percentage and greens in regulation numbers identical at 58.33%.
HOLE SPOTLIGHT
No. 15: Sterling, Par 5, 554 yards
Sterling didn’t make its debut in the rotation until Week 6, but it’s proved a welcome addition with its unique skinny bunker running dead straight down the middle of the fairway.
Both teams will be pleased to see the par 5 included – Atlanta went 3-1 at Sterling this regular season, while The Bay was 2-0-2. It’s all on Cantlay and Åberg’s shoulders this time in what should be a thrilling finishing hole.