Who Will Survive the TGL Semifinals Showdown?
After an exciting but up-and-down season for this new version of golf, we have arrived at the Semifinals for the TGL experience. With a four-team playoff format being conducted on March 17th and 18th, these matches will be interesting to watch after coming off the Players Championship. Monday will showcase the one-seeded Los Angeles Golf Club led by Collin Morikawa vs. the four-seeded New York club led by the number two player in the world in Xander Schauffele. Tuesday will present the second match of the playoff, with Justin Thomas’ Atlanta Drive facing off against Ludvig Aberg’s The Bay Club. The playoff will have the same format, with the players battling it out on the big screen for alternate shot before going into the last six holes in one vs. one duels.
Los Angeles Golf Club vs. New York Golf Club
When looking at this one vs four seed matchup, it looks to be maybe the most intriguing match of the two. The Los Angeles Golf Club finished the five match season with a 4-1 record, winning a leading 27 holes for the season. On the other side, the New York Club finished the year with a 2-3 record, winning 22 holes on the season. The matchups for this are the most intriguing as the talent shows to be close in all matchups. The first matchup lands Xander Schauffele up against Morikawa, who, after their performances in the Players Championship, should be the favorite in that matchup. While scores on TPC Sawgrass most likely won’t correlate, Schauffele looked frustrated all weekend. The next matchup lands Rickie Fowler vs. Tommy Fleetwood in a matchup that should be eagerly close, both players have played well recently, and their iron games should give them an intense competition bonus to their teams. Due to play in the TGL, New York and Fowler might have the slight edge, but not by much. The last matchup pairs Cameron Young up against Sahith Theegala in a much important two holes. Theegala has been one of the more consistent players every time we see him, which might give him the advantage on Monday night.
Atlanta Drive Gold Club vs. The Bay Golf Club
This two vs. three matchup should be a close one if we just look at the standings. Both clubs finished with a 4-1 record on the season, and while the Bay Golf Club earned the tiebreaker due to their 25-21 holes won advantage, both teams had a solid first season. Atlanta gets back their star player in Justin Thomas for this match, after a one-game substitute in Nick Dunlap had replaced him for the regular season finale. Thomas, who has just finished one of the most up and down tournaments we have seen, comes in seemingly more confident, which he will need against Shane Lowry. Lowry has been one of the most liked people through TGL, showing his personality and golf game as a pairing that has become a must watch. Thomas will bring Billy Horschel and Patrick Cantlay with him to try to get to the finals, two more veteran players who have both shown signs of greatness lately. While Horschel was much known for his comments over the weekend regarding his golf swing, he still managed to put up good scores all four days. While Cantlay hasn’t won any big tournaments yet, his play has been consistent on TGL and will prove to be vital due to his short game. The Bay Club will put out Ludvig Aberg and Wyndham Clark. Aberg struggled some over the past weekend, not making the cut in Florida, but at his young age, he is bound to bounce back and this match could be that one. Clark on the other hand had to withdraw after 27 holes due to an undisclosed neck injury, his place on Tuesday seems to be questionable at this point. If he does play, he should provide stability to a group of young players, and will be beneficial facing off against a tough Atlanta team.
