Third Times a Charm 🪬
Back to back shellackPALM BEACH GARDENS, FL Two matches in, and the TGL is starting to look like the have and the have nots. Los Angeles Golf Club took down the Jupiter Links Golf Club easily Tuesday night. Once again, ball striking and especially short game acumen defined the defeat. It was great to see Tiger Woods for the first time since the PNC Parent Child. Woods walked the arena with little trouble and looked solid when using his full swing. Tiger's touch is still rusty, but he was far better than his teammate Kevin Kisner. I had my doubts about the viability of Jupiter Links when I wrote the Golf Digest TGL Rankings, and so far those concerns are warranted. Match #3 is our first look at the Atlanta Drive Golf Club. ADGC rolls in with a starting lineup of three players all inside the top 18 in the Official World Ranking. Their opponents played in the first match and were taken out behind the woodshed by The Bay Golf Club. New York Golf Club returns and shockingly without their star player Xander Schauffele. When I didn't see his name in the lineup Friday morning, I figured Xander was playing the Farmers. Turns out he wasn't entered in that field and now it has been reported he has a rib injury. Looks like one and two in the world are on the mend! Read The Line is back inside the arena covering the TGL action. Keep your eyes open during the coverage, our media viewing area is very close to the action. The format, course, and starting lineupsThe TGL format will remain the same all season. If you missed Match 1 or 2 and you are curious how it works, their website does an excellent job of explaining the league rules with quick videos (TGL EXPLAINED). Atlanta Drive's Justin Thomas will open the match on Tuesday at 7:00pm ET (ESPN, ESPN+). Since ADGC has the honor, they will also start the match in possession of the hammer. Match #2 used the hammer bet more than week one, but every-time Jupiter Links dropped the hammer, it seemed to land on their toe. Tiger opened the match with an immediate hammer on the first hole which is what we want to see. Trust me, these guys will get it. The showmanship will continue to increase and the matches should get tighter. We are going to get some new holes this week! Five new holes are being introduced and a couple of the previous designs are going to incorporate totally different tee boxes. You can see the scorecard outlined in the graphic and the layout is also linked below every week in our preview. Par is still 60, and we still see one par 3, 4, and 5 allocated every three holes. Not sure if that will change, but we will keep an eye on it. TGL officials gave a shorter collection of par 3s (-9 yards on average) and par 4s (-20 yards on average) and bolstered the par 5 tests (+14 yards on average). I love the addition of a wild hole to start, and a very reachable par 4 (Bluebonnet). I gave away the goods on NYGC's starting lineup in the opening. Cameron Young replaces Xander Schauffele from their match #1 starters. We sure won't lose any ball speed by adding Cam Young and losing Schauffele, but Xander is one of the most well-rounded golfers in the world. As we have seen, TGL tests every part of the "team's game." I love ADGC's drive from the start. Leave Lucas Glover at home and bring your three highest ranked players. Not to mention, all three just played this weekend out in the Palm Desert and finished inside the top 21. Cantlay and Thomas finished inside the top 5!
Comparing the starting lineups and H2H pairings, I'd give the overall advantage to Atlanta Drive. The full lineup breakdown is linked below, and also lists the order for Triples (Alternate Shot) on the first nine holes. The first two weeks have been blowouts. Let's hope these two teams can keep it close. We saw TGL also make some edits to the broadcast in week two. They lost the lengthy halftime and wrapped the match in about 90 minutes. Watching from home the match moved quickly just as it did in the arena. It also didn't hurt that we had a perfect 3-0 card and 5-0 record after two weeks. I love our leans for this match tonight as well so why not get to the card... Match breakdownCan you believe they matched Kevin Kisner up against Collin Morikawa last week. I understand you can only play the team you have, but that wasn't pretty. As we breakdown match #3, I see some similar edges between these two teams. Short game, short game, short game, these guys are just not hitting as many GIRs as we predicted prior to the matches. Atlanta Drive is the best SG:ARG team in the league. Get in a chipping match with these guys and you will have your hands full. I know this will become a huge factor tonight. Couple that with three guys (Cantlay, Horschel, Thomas) who all had a very positive week with the putter at the AMEX. I'm not saying we're going to get a blowout again because I think there's also an advantage to having played a TGL match already. New York GC has been through this experience once and should be more comfortable than their competitors. NYGC is also the best putting team on paper. I'd prefer Xander over Cam in that category, but I still think as a team they can hold their own. New York is longer than ADGC and better on the par 3s. In the first two matches, par 3s have played a pivotal role. Make sure you read my Keith's Keys for a cool note about those holes. Atlanta Drive is favored on the 4s and 5s and holds another edge on approach. Triples take a team effort and I see ADGC getting off to an early lead because of their close range ball striking skills. New York will really need to "hammer" their opponents wisely in order to keep it close. Of course if they do during the opening nine, then these H2H matches will actually matter unlike the previous TGL matches.
I'm once again on-site in the simulator stadium taking in all the action tonight. I saw more more live markets last week than during match #1. That's a good sign. Looking ahead, my goal is to live bet the matches with the support of the TGL team. We're getting much closer to that moment, and each on-site visit increases the likelihood. I'm excited to experience the new holes and watch a first-time team enter the SoFi Center. Two weeks in and the competition is pretty solid. The scores have not been close, but the actual format and TGL design really works. I know I'll have more insights after match #3, so stay tuned for our match #4 preview. Tiger Woods faces Rory McIlroy on the day after NFL's Championship Sunday. Match #4 is Monday next week, and your inbox will be filled accordingly. Match 3 Card
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