Jupiter records first victory, tops Boston in overtime

The biggest names in golf, future hall of famers and the brightest young stars going shot-for-shot in front of a fired-up crowd.

That’s how things played out at SoFi Center as Jupiter Links Golf Club defeated Boston Common Golf in Overtime for the victory on a night to remember in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Neither team led by more than one point throughout, with the match tied 1-1 after Triples and 3-3 at the end of regulation. The match then went to a best-of-three closest-to-the-pin Overtime from just inside 40 yards, with Tom Kim beating Keegan Bradley and Kevin Kisner getting the better of Adam Scott to seal the Jupiter victory.

All six players brought it strong over the course of the two-hour match, trading clutch putts and feeding off the energy from the crowd.

McIlroy got the fans on their feet from the start, walking out for Boston in the anchor position with that unmistakable strut as “I'm Shipping up to Boston” blared throughout SoFi Center on the campus of Palm Beach State College. Even Boston Red Sox first-ballot MLB Hall of Famer David Ortiz appeared starstruck, capturing the moment on his cellphone from the stands.

Tom Kim, replacing Max Homa in the lineup for his TGL debut, looked poised and confident as he entered the arena to lead off the intros for Jupiter. The 22-year-old wasn’t bluffing. He rose to the moment multiple times throughout the night and gave Jupiter a 3-2 lead after hitting his tee shot to two feet at the par-3 12th hole, On the Rocks, capping a brilliant performance from the young phenom.

With plenty of Boston fans in the stands making their presence known from the start, Kim wasn’t having it. He drowned out the noise at the second hole and made a nervy 8-footer for par, turning to the crowd with his finger pointed to his ear as if to let them know he’d be giving it back all night.

He did it again after another 8-foot make at No. 9, keeping the match 1-1 entering Singles, walking it in and shouting “What’d you say?!”

Woods, speaking with TGL host Scott Van Pelt prior to the match, seemed to foreshadow the scene at SoFi Center.

“The kid’s a stud,” Woods said of Kim. “He’s young, fearless, got so much potential in the game of golf. It’s gonna be fun for him to showcase not only his tremendous talent, but the personality that we know on Tour and that we enjoy.”

Woods didn’t shy away from the crowd either, chopping it up with friend and Los Angeles Angels legend Mike Trout, who recently joined JLGC as a limited partner and saw the match up close Monday. He also spotted his mom, Kultida Woods, in the stands prior to the match and waved at her like a little kid.

“Hi, Mom!” Woods shouted. “I’m not going to suck tonight!”

Indeed, Woods came through with one of the biggest putts of the night for Jupiter. Facing McIlroy in Singles, Woods lost the 10th hole after picking up the first shot clock violation in league history.

He made up for it at the 13th, Alpine, when Boston threw the Hammer with Woods looking at an 8-foot putt to tie the hole and hang on to a 3-2 lead. A miss would have meant a two-point swing, but Woods rose to the occasion and drained the putt just like he’s done countless times throughout his career. Kisner and Kim went crazy and seemed to carry that momentum throughout the remainder of the match.

“It’s amazing to go up and compete against one of your heroes,” McIlroy said. “I’ve shared the course with him so many times and I’ve been in a couple final groups with him, and he had just as much intensity out there tonight as he does when he’s trying to finish off a golf tournament. He was feeling it out there, and it was really cool to see.”

Scott answered Kim and Woods’ heroics at the par-3 14th, Set in Stone, where the 44-year-old Aussie made a 31-foot putt to tie the match 3-3 before he was mobbed by his teammates.

Jupiter’s experience may have played to their advantage in hanging on for the victory, but the energy and execution were night and day compared with the opening defeat against Los Angeles Golf Club.

JLGC didn’t hit it into a penalty area all night after doing so six times in the first match. The team also made 48 feet of combined putts compared with just 8 feet against LAGC, excluding concessions.

While McIlroy was on the losing end, there’s no doubt this was a blast for all involved.

“This has been a long journey for us,” McIlroy said. “We started talking about TGL back in 2019 ... to see it come to fruition and get to this point, it’s honestly really special and really cool.”

Jupiter earns two points with the Overtime win to join a four-way tie atop the SoFi Cup Standings, bouncing back from a loss to LAGC in its first match. Boston salvaged one point with the Overtime loss in its inaugural TGL match.

Boston is back in action next Tuesday (Feb. 4) at 9 p.m. ET against Los Angeles, while Jupiter returns at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 against New York.