When TGL’s inaugural season started, Rory McIlroy’s Boston Frequent staff was the odds-on favourite to win the SoFi Cup at +350, per Keith Stewart of Learn The Line. McIlroy has Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley enjoying alongside him, all of whom are ranked throughout the prime 30 on the planet — oddsmakers itemizing them because the pre-season favourite made sense.
But, with just one match left within the common season, Boston wants exterior assist to keep away from elimination.
Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel, and Patrick Cantlay of Atlanta Drive beat McIlroy, Matsuyama, and Bradley 6-to-3, handing Boston their fourth loss. McIlroy and firm now should cheer for The Bay, who faces a Tiger Woods-less Jupiter Hyperlinks staff on Tuesday evening. Ought to Jupiter Hyperlinks win, they’ll eradicate Boston from playoff rivalry. Solely the highest 4 groups qualify for the postseason, and Boston presently sits in sixth place — the cellar of the standings.
“We got here in right here actually anticipating to win,” Bradley stated after.
“We acquired off to a little bit of a sluggish begin. We didn’t play that nice in the beginning, however we picked it up on the finish. Some good pictures for the boys there on Atlanta to beat us on the finish.”
The pivotal level of Monday evening’s match got here on the par-3 twelfth throughout singles. Boston and Atlanta had been tied up at two apiece, with McIlroy and Cantlay going through off.
Measuring solely 162 yards, Cantlay fired a laser to a few ft away. McIlroy hit his method simply off the inexperienced, settling about 20 ft from the cup. Atlanta then threw the hammer, and McIlroy couldn’t save par, giving the Drive an enormous two factors.
“The large turning level was clearly Patrick hit it in shut there on the outlet that we performed, after which they threw the hammer, and I felt like I needed to settle for it,” McIlroy stated.
“I needed to not less than have an opportunity to tie that gap and provides it an excellent run with the chip. However then getting these two factors and going 4-2 up at that time was clearly an enormous turning level.
“It was robust. We felt like we performed fairly good. We hung in there within the triples, and simply disenchanted to not get the job completed.”
Bradley then birdied the subsequent gap, the drivable par-4 thirteenth. However Thomas hit a spectacular wedge shot — among the finest in TGL historical past — to tie.
One gap later, Horschel and Matsuyama every hit terrific irons into the 142-yard par-3 14th. However Horschel’s ball settled about 4 inches farther away from Matsuyama’s. In match play, you wish to putt first in an effort to apply strain to your opponent in the event you make it. Horschel did simply that, after which Atlanta threw one other hammer, upping the ante of Matsuyama’s birdie attempt. If he made it, they’d halve the outlet. A miss would give Atlanta two extra factors and, due to this fact, the win.
Matsuyama missed, which despatched Atlanta to the playoffs and turned Boston into followers of The Bay.
“Hideki hit an awesome shot into the par-3 and hit an excellent putt,” McIlroy stated.
“It simply didn’t break to the appropriate like we thought.”
An analogous sentiment could possibly be stated about Boston’s inaugural marketing campaign in TGL. No person would have thought that they’d now not management their very own future at this level within the season. However that’s the place they’re, proving that something can occur in golf — even indoors.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By way of. Comply with him on X @jack_milko.
