Rickie Fowler, Cam Young and Xander Schauffele are headed to the TGL title match. (Megan Briggs/TGL/TGL via Getty Images)
The East Coast of Florida hosted two playoff events Monday. And while Rory McIlroy’s victory at The Players Championship might technically be “more prestigious” and “actually outdoors,” the TGL playoff on Monday night between New York Golf Club and Los Angeles Golf Club at least had a bit more drama than McIlroy’s relatively easy victory.
New York GC, led by Xander Schauffele, had struggled through the opening matches of TGL, but found its footing late in the season and played its way into the playoffs. Los Angeles, meanwhile, led by Collin Morikawa, had been one of the league’s elite teams all season, but picked a bad night to have a bad night. New York defeated Los Angeles 6-3 to advance to the first TGL championship next week.
LA won the first hole of the night when Tommy Fleetwood chipped to inside eight feet, and teammate Sahith Theegala threw a hammer that New York declined. Schauffele followed up on the second hole by chipping to within six feet, and Rickie Fowler drained the winning putt to put the score at 1-1 after just two holes.
The match seesawed after that, with New York winning the fourth and L.A. the fifth hole. New York claimed the eighth hole to end the triples section of the match ahead 3-2.
Schauffele and Fowler outplayed Morikawa and Fleetwood on the first two holes of singles to give New York a 4-2 lead, but Theegala got one back over Cameron Young on the 12th.
Schauffele again bested Morikawa on the 13th to take a 6-3 lead. After Fowler and Fleetwood tied the 14th, the match was effectively over.
New York now goes on to face the winner of Tuesday night’s Atlanta Drive GC vs. The Bay Golf Club match. That match will air at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and will feature Justin Thomas for Atlanta and Shane Lowry for The Bay, among other players.
