Tony Finau's TGL debut began with a dance and ended with a sensational cam finish.
Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood had prior commitments, so Finau signed a one-game contract with Los Angeles Golf Club to play in Monday's game against New York. He danced his way to his first tee shot and looked as happy as ever as he was in Sophie Center.
However, the move to introduce Finau did not pay off in the first 11 holes. Finau, Morikawa and Sahith Theegala were all frowned upon as they faced a 4-0 deficit. New York appears to be drilling holes in everything, with Cameron Young and Ricky Fowler having drilled two TGL putts so far. Fowler's long-range bomb came to the first hole, taking Finau's highly anticipated debut.
New York looked destined to win the second victory of the season. It would have brought a surprise to TGL playoff prospects. According to TGL Statistician Justin RayLos Angeles had only a 2% chance of winning when Tegala stepped into the 12 tees.
“So you say I have a chance,” the famous Jim Carrie Line said.
“It was so much fun. I wouldn't have really enjoyed it more. We were fine at first, despite being in a deep hole.”
Certainly there were still opportunities in Los Angeles. Tegala then drained 28 footers for a birdie, giving Los Angeles the first point of the day. Finau then threw a hammer, so the PAR-4 No. 13th hole deserves two valuable points. After finding the fairway, Finau stuck his approach 9 feet away, draining the putt for birdie, and suddenly, Los Angeles had The 4-0 deficit was changed to a 4-3 ball game There are two holes to play.
After one hole, Morikawa stepped up with a par 3 of 170 yards, 14th place, stopping his approach six feet away. Two major winners then created putts and tied the score at 4. Tegara and Fowler each birded the final hole, a par 5 that set the stage for overtime.
TGL's overtime consists of the competition closest to the three best pins from around 50 yards away. This is a quick and effective way to determine the winner, just like how the NHL uses gunfights in regular season games.
Finau went first, 29 feet six inches away from the hole, nearly five inches away from where Fitzpatrick slammed him, hitting his approach and giving Los Angeles a lead from the gate. Morikawa then struck his attempt six feet away, but Fowler couldn't get into it. Morikawa's shot won the game, and Los Angeles won a playoff spot in the process.
“Sahis kicked us out by scoring the first points,” Finau added.
“We could throw a hammer, I could hit a good shot and make a good putt, and Colin tied it up, and it was a fair game after that. Matches like this. It's a lot of fun to join. Momentum is crazy in sports and I'm happy that we've come to the top.”
But it wasn't that interesting for the other side.
“This is a shame because we got off to a good start, but those boys close us pretty hard and make some birdies with singles,” Fowler said.
“Yeah, that's true.”
Jack Mirco is a golf staff writer who plays SB Nation. Follow him with x @jack_milko.
