The world of golf has been having quite the moment as of late.
Justin Thomas just provided the best moment in TGL history
Justin Thomas just had an all-time moment in TGL history.
Photo by Megan Briggs/TGL/TGL via Getty Images
Sunday saw rising star Ludvig Aberg win The Genesis Invitational, something yours truly predicted by the way, on a day where Scottie Scheffler made quite the charge and Maverick McNealy did all he could to take home the win.
Golf kept its foot on the gas on Monday’s holiday as the TGL, the new golf simulator league featuring PGA Tour professionals, kicked off a triple-header’s worth of action between the Atlanta and Los Angeles teams. These TGL matches have gotten out of hand a bit quickly in the past, but Monday’s first matchup went a bit down to the wire in surprising fashion.
Things got a bit interesting on the 14th hole (there are 15 in a match) when Tommy Fleetwood surprisingly drained a long putt to keep the match as it was with his LA team holding a 5-4 lead.
This set up Sahith Theegala (LA) and Justin Thomas (Atlanta) for a final hole showdown that Thomas needed to win in order for Atlanta to have a shot at large.
Hole 15 (Quick Draw) is a 714-yard par 5 that appeared daunting. Thomas was in fine position to approach after his tee shot, but Theegala went into the sand which seemed to spell trouble.
As fate would have it Theegala went into the green side bunker to give him another shot out of the sand. When Thomas landed on the side of the green it appeared as if he was in commanding position. This became an even larger assumption after Theegala flubbed his shot and stayed inside of the bunker. All JT had to do was get up and down and overtime was assured.
Amazingly, Thomas duffed his shot and didn’t even reach the green. Getting up and down would likely split the hole and give the match to Los Angeles. Poetically, Thomas challenged himself out loud to make up for it and then did this...
JT holed out to win the final hole and send things to overtime where Atlanta won. I have watched every single TGL match to date in extremely close fashion and have never been anywhere as invested as I was in this match over the final seconds.
Golf’s moment isn’t stopping any time soon and neither is TGL. There are two matches left on President’s Day as I write this. What a time to love the beautiful game.
