The Bay tops Jupiter Links, remains undefeated
The Bay Golf Club brought a championship mindset from the start Tuesday, led into SoFi Center by four-time NBA champion Andre Iguodala. They backed it up with a convincing 6-3 victory over Jupiter Links Golf Club to reclaim first place outright in the SoFi Cup Standings and improve to 4-0 with the playoffs on the horizon.
Shane Lowry was wearing a No. 9 Golden State Warriors Iguodala jersey while teammates Wyndham Clark and Min Woo Lee rocked two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry’s No. 30. It was a fitting entrance for the top team in the league to date.
“We really wanted to win and keep our winning streak going,” Lowry said. “You want to finish as high as you can and get the best seed possible and I thought we did a great job tonight.”
TBGC already had a playoff spot locked up thanks to Los Angeles Golf Club’s comeback win over New York Golf Club Monday, and they can wrap up the No. 1 seed in the standings with a win over Los Angeles Monday (March 3) in their last match of the regular season. Los Angeles and Atlanta Drive GC also clinched Monday, leaving just one playoff spot still up for grabs.
The Bay stayed patient and took a 2-1 lead into the final hole of Triples, pulling away at the ninth in a display of strategy that would make Warriors coach Steve Kerr proud. After wisely accepting a Hammer from Jupiter following a solid second shot from Tom Kim at the par-5 Boomerang, Lee hit a beauty from 258 yards leaving just six feet for eagle.
Sensing an opportunity to pull away, The Bay then threw the Hammer to make the hole worth three points. Lowry holed the putt and The Bay suddenly held a 5-1 advantage entering Singles.
That was one of two eagles for The Bay Tuesday, a first in TGL history. Lee also contributed with his second chip-in this season, the only player to do so, giving The Bay a 2-1 lead at the sixth.
Jupiter remains in fifth place with two points on the season ahead of its final match at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday (March 4) against Atlanta Drive GC. Jupiter can still make the postseason with a win over Atlanta and some additional help.
It was another tough night for Kim, Max Homa and Kevin Kisner, all of whom would like a chance to take back a few ill-advised Hammer throws.
“I thought we played really well,” said Homa, whose only prior TGL appearance came in a 12-1 loss. “It was fun to at least come out here and see we could hole some putts and make some birdies and do some good things out here. It sucks to take an ‘L’ but at the same time ... we do get another shot at it next week with some golf momentum. Not necessarily in the win column, but some golf momentum.”
Kisner was able to provide some comic relief, giving himself a horrible stance with his feet hanging on the edge of the back box prior to teeing off at the second. When questioned, he cited poor “spatial awareness.”
He also called “shank” immediately after teeing off at the par-3 fifth, Cliffhanger, which actually worked out when Homa nearly holed their second shot from way off the green.
“Right where you wanted it!” Kisner said. “I gave you the whole green.”
While The Bay put things out of reach early in Singles, there was still a lively atmosphere at SoFi Center with plenty of big names in attendance – including five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, who was chatting it up with members of The Bay in the field of play before the match.
There are now just three regular season matches left in TGL’s inaugural season, with the playoffs getting underway in the semifinals March 17-18 at SoFi Center.