Atlanta Drive GC emerged as the first-ever champions of the TGL’s SoFi Cup, staging a dramatic turnaround to defeat New York 4-3 in the second match of the Final Series, giving them an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three showdown.
On Monday, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, and Justin Thomas secured a narrow 6-5 win in the opening clash, putting Atlanta 1-0 up as the teams headed into Tuesday’s decisive encounters. New York Golf Club, powered by Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, and Cameron Young, stormed to a commanding 3-0 advantage with just four holes remaining in Match 2. Yet, Horschel and Cantlay sparked an astonishing revival for Atlanta, clawing their way back into contention.
The momentum shifted as Atlanta claimed consecutive holes, narrowing the deficit to a single point. Then, on the 14th, Horschel ignited the SoFi Center with a stunning 18-foot birdie putt, clinching two crucial points and sending his teammates into a frenzy. New York couldn’t muster a response on the final hole, confirming Atlanta’s triumph and a $9m prize pot shared among the quartet, including Lucas Glover. New York’s foursome – Matt Fitzpatrick completes the side – settled for a $4.5m consolation as runners-up.
The contest began cagily in the triples format and they remained deadlocked at nil-nil after six holes before New York finally opened the scoring with a win on seven. They stretched their lead on eight when Atlanta passed up the Hammer, and took a 2-0 lead into singles.
Two became three when Schauffele beat Thomas on 10, before Atlanta’s fightback began at the 12th, wielding the Hammer to spark successive wins. New York declined both, trimming the gap to 3-2, before the decisive moment arrived at the 14th.
For the third successive hole, Atlanta threw a Hammer, but this time New York accepted, backing Fowler to get up-and-down from the bunker and Horschel to miss from 17 feet. We’ll never know if Fowler would’ve made his four-footer for par as Horschel’s double-breaker was perfect for line and speed and, suddenly, Atlanta had one hand on the trophy at 4-3 ahead.
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New York threw their remaining Hammer before the tee shots on the 15th and final hole, meaning there would be no overtime, but Cantlay’s deft chip to three feet matched Young’s birdie, sealing the title.
“I think we all have had a lot of fun,” said Horschel, who was everpresent throughout for Atlanta Drive. “Obviously it is a little bit of a challenge with everything we’ve got going through the year with our own schedules, but I don’t think anyone has ever walked away and said this felt like a burden. It’s just something new and exciting and we all enjoyed it. To walk away as champions with these guys is pretty cool.”
“Yeah, it’s completely exceeded my expectations,” Thomas added. “It’s been a blast, and the competitiveness once the playoffs got here, those guys — I’m sure they would say the same teammates, that they were different last night. It was not chippy, but it just was competitive. We wanted to win.”
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