Ludvig Åberg didn’t waste any time after his win at Torrey Pines on Sunday.
After taking a jet across the country almost immediately after winning the Genesis Invitational in Southern California, Åberg helped lead The Bay GC to a dominant win over Justin Thomas and Atlanta Drive GC in the second of three TGL matches on Monday.
The Bay held on to grab a 6-5 win in their first match of the day on Monday in Florida, part of a special Presidents Day triple-header. That followed Thomas’ wild overtime rally that he sealed with a chip-in to beat Los Angeles Golf Club.
The Bay jumped to a 3-0 lead almost immediately, thanks in part to a clutch chip-in from Min Woo Lee on the fourth hole. That actually came after a timeout on the green when they forgot to bring a club up.
While Atlanta responded on the fifth, thanks to a 13-footer from Thomas after a hammer was thrown, Lucas Glover missed a perfect opportunity to win the hammer on the next hole and suddenly take the lead. Glover responded on the ninth to close out triples with a chip-in of his own, however, which kept their deficit at one as they entered singles. That chip-in sent Thomas rolling backward on the green in celebration, too.
The Bay finally pulled ahead on the 13th after Clark won via a hammer throw and then Åberg dropped another dart on the par-3 14th. He was just inches away from an ace, which would’ve been the first in competition.
Thomas had a chance to force overtime at the last hole, but Thomas’ long putt was just a bit short. That gave The Bay the one shot win.
Justin Thomas leads Atlanta out of hole
Teeing off in the afternoon out of its usual primetime setting, the first matchup featured the previously undefeated Atlanta Drive GC (1-0) and the Los Angeles Golf Club (2-0).
LAGC took an early 1-0 lead on the third hole, with Justin Rose sinking a 14-foot putt. However, the match was tied at 1-1 on the next hole when Justin Thomas threw The Hammer for Atlanta, but LAGC declined. (Each team got three Hammers under new rules, compared to one during previous TGL matches.)
Sahith Theegala missed a putt on the fifth hole that would have given LAGC the lead, but the shot lipped out. The two teams remained tied at 2-2 after Holes 6 and 7.
LAGC won the ninth hole on a Thomas putt from seven feet to take a 3-2 lead. They built that margin to 5-2 when Tommy Fleetwood sank a birdie to win Hole 11.
However, Atlanta rallied to make it 5-4 on Hole 13 with a Billy Horschel putt. LAGC held its slight edge until Hole 15 when Thomas chipped in to move the match to overtime.
In overtime, it’s a closest-to-the-pin challenge in TGL. Fleetwood looked like he gave LAGC the win when he holed in his shot. But Patrick Cantlay finished off Atlanta’s rally and got the win, landing his shot to within five feet of the pin.
With the win, Atlanta briefly improved to 2-0 before falling to 2-1 on the season. LAGC took its first loss of the season and fell to 2-1, but it still looks like the TGL favorite ahead of a match next Monday against New York GC, which has yet to win.
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