Atlanta Drive split doubleheader, lock up playoff spot

Atlanta Drive GC went 1-1 of their doubleheader Monday evening however locked up a playoff spot due to their early win towards Boston Frequent Golf. 

Los Angeles Golf Membership defeated Atlanta Drive within the late match, however the defending SoFi Cup champs are nonetheless within the operating to go back-to-back. 

It was the primary evening of two TGL doubleheaders.

Within the first match of the night, Atlanta Drive received one other tidy efficiency out of fill-in Chris Gotterup, who defeated Rory McIlroy in each of their singles matchups to earn two of the workforce’s 5 general factors. Gotterup, who has received two of the primary three PGA Tour occasions of the season, has been simply as spectacular within the SoFi Middle as he has been on the golf course to date in 2026. 

Not solely did Gotterup go 2-0 in singles, however he additionally pushed Atlanta Drive to a 3-1 benefit in triples early after draining a 14-foot birdie on the now-iconic gap, Stinger (which forces the gamers off the tee to hit a really low stinging shot), which performed as No. 8 in Monday’s early match. 

Atlanta Drive misplaced a few of its early mojo after hitting two balls into the penalty space on No. 9, resulting in a loss and only a one-point benefit heading into singles. However Boston, who’s the highest placing workforce in TGL this season, couldn’t get something going with the flatstick early Monday evening – Michael Thorbjornsen, for instance, missed a five-footer on the opening gap, Boston Frequent needed to accept a tie to start out the evening and Keegan Bradley missed a six-footer on No. 4. 

The climate in Palm Seaside Gardens – at the least by Florida requirements – was on the chillier aspect Monday evening and the gamers mentioned they had been having bother adjusting to the tempo of the greens. 

“They had been like two ft faster,” McIlroy mentioned. 

“At the least,” added Bradley. “I’d say much more.” 

Justin Thomas returned to motion for Atlanta Drive within the early match – he hasn’t teed it up on the PGA Tour in practically a half-a-year after having again surgical procedure and, after all, missed the primary three matches of the TGL season – and earned the match-winning level for Atlanta Drive on the par-3 14th, a brand new gap Thomas had by no means performed earlier than.  

“It is fairly near regular,” Thomas mentioned of how his physique felt. “I would not say (TGL) is a standard setting or state of affairs tonight. It is plenty of cease and begins and whatnot. However at the least once I’ve been hitting the final week or so I really feel prefer it’s been in a really related spot to regular.”

After Atlanta Drive noticed their stretch of seven consecutive victories snapped within the final match, their match towards Boston Frequent was a reminder of why they had been the league’s inaugural winners. Atlanta Drive now leads TGL with 20 holes received (which is the primary playoff tiebreaker if vital). 

Boston Frequent is again in motion Tuesday evening towards New York Golf Membership and in the event that they win that match, they may also assure themselves a spot within the playoffs after lacking out in season one. 

Within the late match, Los Angeles rolled to a 7-3 victory after successful the primary three holes and main 4-0 after six. 

With the win, Los Angeles considerably improved its publish season probabilities, leaping into second place within the standings. 

Atlanta Drive started to chop into the Los Angeles lead because the match headed into singles, however on No. 14 Tommy Fleetwood put issues away for good, successful two key factors after throwing the hammer. 

The shot of the evening got here from Fleetwood, who chipped in from off the inexperienced on No. 11 to salvage a tie towards Patrick Cantlay and preserve the lead – and the momentum – with simply 4 holes left. 

Los Angeles Golf Membership boasts three of the highest 5 golfers on the planet ( Nos. 3, 4, and 5 – Fleetwood, Justin Rose, and Collin Morikawa) and was simply too sturdy for Atlanta Drive. Lucas Glover and Billy Horschel had been in for Atlanta within the second match of the evening with solely Patrick Cantlay enjoying each. 

Rose and Morikawa received two of the PGA Tour occasions on the West Coast over the past couple of weeks and Rose mentioned the squad was in a position to carry over a few of that momentum into Monday evening’s match. 

“I felt prefer it was a giant matchup. Clearly, Atlanta (is) a terrific workforce, type of affected by actually robust rivals, and we clearly got here in right here with some momentum, not simply from a TGL standpoint however from the golf that is being performed this season. It was nice to let that observe by way of tonight and to get a giant win and I feel type of get our season actually up and operating,” Rose mentioned. 

Regardless of the loss, Atlanta Drive completed at 3-2 for the season and can return for the playoffs because it seems to be to defend the SoFi Cup championship. It defeated New York within the finale final yr. 

“I hate dropping, and it sucked tonight,” mentioned Horschel. “However pay attention, I feel we’re just about a lock for the playoffs. (Cantlay and Gotterup and Thomas) performed lovely on the 5:00 match and clearly made our match just a little bit much less tense. However it sucks to lose. I hate that. However it’s been a great season.” 

This week the PGA Tour tees it up at PGA Nationwide on the Cognizant Traditional in The Palm Seashores – about quarter-hour from the SoFi Middle. However there are simply three golfers out of the close to dozen who’re enjoying TGL Monday and Tuesday evening who’re within the discipline. 

You actually can’t blame location for the dearth of star energy this week with such a big share of the sport’s finest gamers dwelling in southeast Florida. As an alternative, it’s an ideal instance of how the PGA Tour’s prime canine have merely prioritized enjoying within the signature occasions and wrapping their years across the big-money tournaments. 

That, after all, makes complete sense. 

The purse of this week’s Cognizant Traditional is $9.6 million, whereas the final two weeks on Tour the purses had been $20 million. 

Justin Thomas, who lives about 20 minutes away from PGA Nationwide however just isn’t enjoying, mentioned Monday evening it’s “a bummer” the place the Cognizant Traditional falls within the schedule. 

“I feel it is each a terrific factor and a foul factor of our schedule, how nice it’s and the quantity of nice golf programs that we go to,” Thomas mentioned. “It is simply a type of issues the way in which that guys must play sure occasions or really feel like they offer themselves the perfect alternative to win and take advantage of factors as potential. It is simply type of the place it falls type of factor.”

Thomas is, nonetheless, set to return to the PGA Tour on the Arnold Palmer Invitational subsequent week, he mentioned on the TGL broadcast Monday evening. 

The 16-time PGA Tour winner has not hit a golf ball competitively because the Ryder Cup final fall and underwent a microdiscectomy surgical procedure in November in New York to deal with a lingering disc difficulty. 

“It was unlucky, however it’s what it’s, and I am simply going to make the perfect out of it and do the fitting issues. I nonetheless have one other 12, 15 years of nice golf forward of me. There is no cause to look backward, simply look ahead,” Thomas mentioned. 

Thomas completed seventh within the 2025 FedExCup standings after successful the RBC Heritage – his first win on Tour because the 2022 PGA Championship. 

His final begin on Tour was the Procore Championship in September. 

Michelle Wie West popping out of retirementI

Michelle Wie West, a five-time winner on the LPGA Tour together with the U.S. Ladies’s Open in 2014, is popping out of retirement and has joined WTGL.

WTGL, which can function stars of the LPGA Tour together with Canadian Brooke Henderson, will launch on the finish of 2026. There are eight confirmed gamers to date. 

Wie West left skilled golf on the finish of 2023 however has since change into concerned in a handful of golf and golf-adjacent enterprise ventures, together with being an investor within the Los Angeles Golf Membership. 

“I’ve been a fan of TGL because the starting,” Wie West mentioned on the published. “Being an investor in LAGC, seeing these guys rip it up and have enjoyable on the market, it appeared like plenty of enjoyable. So I’m excited to affix them on this enterprise. … I feel WTGL is the proper subsequent step with innovation, rising the sport, getting extra younger women on the market to play and watch. I feel it’s tremendous thrilling.”

Extra particulars about WTGL together with extra participant bulletins together with workforce names can be introduced within the coming months.