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Today: March 30, 2025
Today: March 30, 2025

Atlanta Drive claim inaugural TGL title with comeback win over New York Golf Club

Thomas putts during the TGL Finals Series at SoFi Center.
Cliff Hawkins/TGL/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
March 26, 2025

(CNN) โ€” Atlanta Drive GC may have been the third-best team in the inaugural TGL season, but they flipped a switch in the playoffs to clinch the championship.

Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel and Patrick Cantlay โ€“ who all came off mixed appearances at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass โ€“ mounted an impressive comeback against New York Golf Club in the second match of the best-of-three Finals Series on Tuesday, winning 4-3 having trailed 3-0 through 11 holes.

Horschelโ€™s clutch 18-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole proved to be the decisive moment, prompting wild celebrations as Atlanta took the lead for the first time over a New York team of Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young.

Atlanta Drive claim inaugural TGL title with comeback win over New York Golf Club
Atlanta Drive claim inaugural TGL title with comeback win over New York Golf Club

With the final hole ending in a tie, Atlanta was handed the SoFi Cup trophy by owner Arthur Blank, finishing the season with a 7-1 record.

โ€œItโ€™s really cool to be a part of something with these guys,โ€ Horschel said afterwards, per TGL. โ€œTeam competitions are special. Iโ€™ve only been a part of one, the 2022 Presidents Cup.

โ€œYou hear the stories, you know how fun it is โ€ฆ Just being in something that is competitive, you feel the energy, you feel the nerves. It just brings you closer together.โ€

TGL, which stands for TMRW Golf League, is a stadium-based, technology-driven competition launched by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, along with NBC Sportsโ€™ former president of golf Mike McCarley, in January.

Six teams representing six cities competed in the inaugural season at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with players hitting tee and approach shots into a screen before transitioning to a green in the middle of the venue.

Atlanta took an early lead in the Finals Series with a 6-5 victory over New York on Monday, and the crucial win the following day saw the players split a purse of $9 million.

Despite falling to a 3-0 deficit after Schauffeleโ€™s birdie putt on the 10th, Atlanta still had three hammers โ€“ which enable a team to increase the value of hole by one point โ€“ and used them all effectively across the 12th, 13th and 14th holes.

New York declined to accept the first two hammers, cutting the teamโ€™s lead to a single point, before Horschelโ€™s long putt snaked into the hole at the 14th to give Atlanta a dramatic lead.

โ€œWe did not want to go to another match,โ€ Horschel said after the match, per Reuters. โ€œWeโ€™re all just thrilled that weโ€™re not playing right now.โ€

The-CNN-Wire
โ„ข & ยฉ 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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