PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The Atlanta Drive are TGL champions, clinching the inaugural title with a dramatic 4-3 comeback victory over New York on Tuesday night at the SoFi Center.
Billy Horschel delivered the defining moment, draining an 18-foot birdie putt that broke multiple ways down a sharp ridge on the penultimate hole. The putt was worth two points after Atlanta threw a “hammer” challenge that New York accepted, completely shifting the match’s momentum.
“Two feet out I knew it was in the hole, and I blacked out,” Horschel said after his celebration that included throwing his putter and hat while screaming, “My (expletive) house!”
Name
Events
Top 10
Money
Billy Horschel
346
64
$40,219,937
Atlanta swept New York in the best-of-3 finals, completing their championship run in the high-tech indoor league’s first season.
New York had controlled the match from the start and held a 3-2 lead heading into the 14th hole. That’s when things got interesting. After Rickie Fowler found himself in a bunker, he managed a solid splash shot to 4 feet. But Horschel’s clutch putt changed everything.
On the final hole, New York threw their own hammer challenge, making it worth two points in a last-ditch effort. Both Cameron Young and Patrick Cantlay missed the green on the par 5. Cantlay’s pitch from 60 feet checked up beautifully, stopping just a foot from the hole. Young needed to make his pitch to force another match, but his attempt slid narrowly past.
The championship brings a $9 million prize to be shared among Horschel, Cantlay, Justin Thomas and Lucas Glover, who was inactive for the three-man match.
New York’s team of Young, Fowler, Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick will take home $4.5 million as runners-up.
