Week three brings us another look at the New York Golf Club, while the Boston team has yet to play a match (Rory is in the Middle East, so this makes sense). Will it be redemption for the team “from” the Big Apple or more misery on the rotating green at SoFi?
When: Tuesday, January 21st, 6 pm ET
How to Watch: ESPN or streaming on ESPN+
The Matchups
Cameron Young vs Justin Thomas
Matt Fitzpatrick vs Billy Horschel
Rickie Fowler vs Patrick Cantlay
Will Experience Matter?
Just looking at the raw stats (this is the past 18 months of strokes gained data) it seems like another spot of bother for the NYC team. So far, two weeks of “betting against the team with the worst player” has worked (sorry, Kiz, you were entertaining at least!), and I don’t know that there’s a good reason to stop that outside of a price getting too high.
This is the first time we’ve seen a team play a second time in the arena. But it’s a team that got the snot kicked out of them and is now playing without their best player from two weeks ago. Maybe they’ll be a little better at hammer strategy, but it’s not as if the guys on Atlanta’s team haven’t been allowed to watch the first two weeks of the competition.
The real concern? Patrick Cantlay is on a shot clock. Known as a bit of a slower player, funnily enough, he’s been called out before by none other than one of his opponents tonight: Matthew Fitzpatrick. I don’t know that we’ve seen someone get really rattled by the clock yet and most shots have quite a bit of time left. Still, this could be an interesting wrinkle.
Either way, I’m fine betting against Rickie again at a reasonable number. Honestly the only knock on the Atlanta team is JT’s putting, and he’s looking like he’s starting to work through that after last week’s performance.
BET: Atlanta Drive -149
How TGL Golf Works
The two teams of three will play the first nine holes in an “alternate shot” that involves all three golfers. The final six holes will be singles matches where each player competes against an opposing player for the entire hole. After that, two new players will go head-to-head for the next hole, meaning each golfer will have two of the six holes for which he is responsible.
Each hole is worth one point; tied holes are worth nothing. The one caveat is THE HAMMER. A team can throw a hammer at any time during the hole, making it worth double the points. The opposing team has the option to decline it, but doing so concedes the hole for one point automatically. After being played, the hammer changes possession, meaning the team who was hammered can then do the hammering. In fact, if they think their opponents made a mistake and they feel confident about a hole, they can play it back immediately, making the hole worth three points.
At the end of the match, the most points wins. A tied match is decided by the best two-out-of-three, closest to the pin, pitching contest.
Betting on the real golf tournament this week? Check out our course preview.