With Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy absent and no debut match curiosity, TGL wanted a spark — or a aggressive match — to maintain up the hype throughout its third match.
Sadly, it didn’t ship, rapidly turning into a nap fest as an alternative.
Followers noticed no viral moments, like Kevin Kisner’s shank final week, no witty traces between gamers, nor any dramatic aptitude inside the match itself. It was boring to look at, frankly, as Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, and Billy Horschel of the Atlanta Drive Golf Membership defeated New York Golf Membership 4-to-0. Thomas, Cantlay, and Horschel handed New York its second loss in three weeks.
“I believe something is extra enjoyable if you’re successful, so we made it very straightforward on ourselves, and I believe we complemented one another’s video games effectively,” Thomas stated.
“It’s clearly a troublesome adjustment for any of us and all groups taking part in, however we in some way discovered a method to hit fairways and greens and made a few putts. That was a bonus.”
Thomas holed two putts from deep, which secured a pair of factors for his workforce. However outdoors of that, the match didn’t characteristic many highlights. New York’s Cameron Younger hit a few towering drives, however the soft-spoken Younger barely uttered a phrase on the telecast. The identical may be stated for Cantlay.
Horschel, in the meantime, tried his hardest to entertain, with no extra vital second being his entrance into the SoFi Heart itself. He donned a large silver chain that learn “Soiled Birds,” a homage to the Atlanta Falcons. Horschel then carried out the “Soiled Chicken” Dance, which originated in 1998, the yr Atlanta misplaced to John Elway and the Denver Broncos in Tremendous Bowl XXXIII.
“[My teammates] knew it was coming. Clearly my spouse and youngsters knew, and my center daughter — they had been doing the dance the opposite evening on FaceTime. Once they came upon what the dance was, they regarded it up on YouTube and noticed it,” Horschel stated.
“Pay attention, my youngsters love me, so hopefully, they gave me score, and so they appreciated what I did, however I’m positive they’re going to make enjoyable of me on the identical time, which is cool with me.”
Thomas was not enthused, nonetheless.
“I’d most likely return in time and never watch Billy do the “Soiled Chicken” dance if I might as a result of I’ll by no means have the ability to get that out of my thoughts,” the two-time PGA Championship winner stated.
However after Horchel’s horrifying entrance, TGL didn’t ship. Regardless of that, the start-up league has some luck in its favor. Woods and McIlroy will face off in opposition to one another on Monday, giving golf’s newest enterprise a much-needed rebound.
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Taking part in Via. Observe him on X @jack_milko.
