by The Fried Egg Golf Slack was on fire as the first of three TGL matches teed off on ESPN today. So, instead of keeping our thoughts in-house, we decided to post a live blog of our staff reactions to the marathon day of matches.
Justin Thomas and his Atlanta Drive Golf Club took the first match against Los Angeles Golf Club in overtime, and they were right back in the arena for the second match of the day against yesterday’s Genesis Invitational champion Ludvig Aberg and The Bay Golf Club. Lucas Glover subbed in for Atlanta and played well, but it wasn’t enough to outduel The Bay, who also feature in the final match of the day against Rory McIlroy and Boston Common.
8:53 p.m. ET – What a day for the TGL! Will we look back on this as the Presidents Day Miracle? Did the TGL truly become President today? The Bay walks it off on the very last hole, with Wyndham Clark draining an eagle. Clark is a semi-sneaky star in this format, just letting it rip with commentary toward the other team. Look, I am not going to say this is the future or it’s now set to take over for the next decade. It may not last more than another year, who knows? But this was super fun – three super competitive matches, some characters like JT, Rosey, Wyndham, and Min Woo shining, and then a ton of hole-outs in critical moments. The launch monitor is still suspect and was comically off early in the day. But we needed some real competition and we got it from start to finish as these guys play this golf-ish setup more and more. Legitimately, a fun day! – Brendan Porath
8:50 p.m. ET – Hard to have a better 24 hours than Ludvig, I think. He’ll get some well-deserved sleep after going 3-0 in the last day! – PJ Clark
8:47 p.m. ET – Not to be outdone, Hideki and Wyndham both make a run for eagle on the 15th! Is this working??? – PJ Clark
8:41 p.m. ET – Rory and Ludvig both throwing darts on the 14th hole of a tie match is Good Stuff. Going three for three on competitive matches was badly needed for the product, at least. – PJ Clark
8:23 p.m. ET – Need the backstory on these two lads in cowboy hats rooting for The Bay. Feel like they’ve gotten a ton of screen time. – PJ Clark
8:18 p.m. ET – I think the TGL Twitter account has to stop RE-tweeting, too. It’s out of control. – PJ Clark
8:17 p.m. ET – Keegan Bradley remains a great celebrator. Guy just knows how to react to a crowd. – Will Knights
8:14 p.m ET – Anyone have any thoughts on who should perform at halftime of the TGL Super Bowl? – Joseph LaMagna
8:12 p.m. ET – The TGL Twitter account has to stop tweeting. It’s killing me. – Will Knights
7:52 p.m. ET – The inconsistency of the balls bouncing is incredible. You don’t know whether you want the ball to go or sit. Sometimes it’s velcro, sometimes it’s a rocket launcher. – Joseph LaMagna
7:49 p.m. ET – “Rory is reading these things well tonight.” – Matt Barrie in reference to … the *one* TGL green. Some habits die hard.– Will Knights
7:19 p.m. ET – Wyndham Clark complaining about the drop he got. He’s never beating the trampling allegations. – Joseph LaMagna
7:13 p.m. ET – Hideki Matsuyama showing up and immediately being the only guy who can seemingly figure out this green would be absolutely hilarious. – PJ Clark
7:12 p.m. ET– I still can’t quite get over that 13/14 players in today’s matches played a PGA Tour event in San Diego yesterday. – Will Knights
7:10 p.m. ET – Is the ref wearing a Rolex? That is the most golf thing I can imagine. – Will Knights
7:01 p.m. ET – Checking back in for the nightcap. DJ Khaled is starting us off with a promo! That’s exactly what the first six hours of this marathon was missing – more DJ Khaled. – PJ Clark
5:54 p.m. ET – Wyndham Clark: “Ludvig is one of our best players.” – Joseph LaMagna
5:33 p.m. ET – Marty Smith just called Wyndham “Hammer Clark” in an unironic manner. I don’t even want to be around anymore. – PJ Clark
5:31 p.m. ET – Matt Barrie “set of Titleists” counter: 2. – Adam Woodard
5:30 p.m. ET – Each team might need a signature cocktail that’s sold in the arena during matches. We have Honey Deuces at the U.S. Open, Mint Juleps at the Kentucky Derby, what’s the SoFi cocktail? – Joseph LaMagna
5:25 p.m. ET – PJ Clark How ridiculous is it that they’re referring to the slab of concrete outside the arena as some happening place otherwise known as “The Plaza”? As someone who has been there, is this a thing? Is this like Henman Hill at Wimbledon? – Brendan Porath
I don’t recall “The Plaza” being filled with SoFi Jenga and people day-drinking to their heart’s desire like Matt Barrie keeps referencing, Brendan. Maybe there’s some big P-Day party out there. Could be a great idea for future content – a day on the outskirts of the screen! – PJ Clark
5:22 p.m. ET / Any time – I can’t believe they’re periodically displaying Strokes Gained numbers in freaking TGL as if they mean anything. Just as a reminder, the starting point for SG is the scoring average on a hole for the day. And there are only two scores recorded on each hole. – Joseph LaMagna
5:20 p.m. ET – We have a real rules dispute! Derrick Stafford has to go to replay to determine whether a Hammer was thrown in time as The Bay tried to ice Lucas Glover. Mark Russell was on the case, determining that it was NOT out of Ludvig’s hand in time. Don’t worry though, all we got as viewers at home was one briefly shown replay of this situation. – PJ Clark
5:15 p.m. ET – I think I am taking four hours of TGL in Brendan’s hypothetical. As much as I’m looking forward to Jake Knapp’s title defense, there’s more #content to be had in the SoFi Dome. – PJ Clark
5:10 p.m. ET – This is a lot of TGL in one day, for sure, but if forced to choose, would you rather watch 4 hours of this or the Mexico Open at Vidanta? Neither is not an option! Maybe there is too much golf? – Brendan Porath
4:55 p.m. ET – Shane Lowry – yes, that one, the Irish golfer – was described as having a wide receiver build and body as he walked into the arena in a Michael Crabtree 49ers jersey. – Brendan Porath
4:38 p.m. ET – Lucas Glover putting from medium range with the hammer thrown was electric … especially after Wyndham made a crack about accepting the hammer because “LG” was the one putting. – Brendan Porath
4:20 p.m. ET – Live odds to win the season-long SoFi Cup are presented to us by FanDuel. I would like to ask if there are going to be any more massive rule changes before investing in my NYGC futures! – PJ Clark
4:11 p.m. ET – I do think this day has been helped by having some of the most serious and competitive SOBs involved. Justin Rose was grinding his ass off over every shot and read. Cantlay and JT seem extremely into it. Every pro golfer is crazy competitive but a few of these guys are getting deep into the strategy of every shot and I think that comes through to the viewer and matters. – Brendan Porath
4:05 p.m. ET – Whoever can build a green surface – anywhere, made out of any material – that Justin Thomas can make a putt on deserves a Nobel prize. – Joseph LaMagna
3:50 p.m. ET – “Marty you are an absolute moron” – Matt Barrie as Marty Smith rides the removable tee box as it is hoisted around the SoFi Center. Thanks for saying what we were all thinking, Matt. – Matt Rouches
3:49 p.m. ET – Things I don’t want to be invited to: a Marty Party. – Meg Adkins
3:36 p.m. ET – “TGL Studio” between matches is laboring for content. Marty Smith repeatedly asking Min Woo Lee about cooking. Min Woo’s excited to play with “the boys.” A full LAGC presser. More Wyndham Clark interviews with the same questions as the one before. Not a lot going on here. – PJ Clark
3:07 p.m. ET – I must give Patrick Cantlay some credit – the EV hammer conversations played out perfectly for an Atlanta Drive comeback. Congratulations to the city of Atlanta and Arthur Blank for having Belichick on their side this time! – PJ Clark
3:05 p.m. ET – Are tickets for each individual match or is this a single-admission tripleheader? Place seems like it cleared out quickly! – PJ Clark
3:03 p.m. ET – If you stuck it out for the full two hours of the first match, you saw quite the finish.
Tommy Fleetwood appeared to slam the door shut and earn his LAGC a win with a clutch downhill putt on the penultimate hole. Then Justin Thomas chipped in from off the green on the final hole to send the match to overtime and create a legitimate moment of excitement and fun the league has been lacking. Fleetwood clutched up AGAIN with a hole-out in OT! Atlanta Drive would go on to win the match, but it was a great ending. Now the league needs to figure out how to replicate that same energy throughout all 15 holes. – Adam Woodard
2:52 p.m. ET – 50 Cent blares over the arena loudspeaker:
“You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub’
Look, mami, I got the X if you into takin’ drugs
I’m into havin’ sex, I ain’t into makin’ love
So come give me a hug if you into gettin’ rubbed”
And I am wondering if all the aforementioned “kids in attendance” on school holiday have questions. – Brendan Porath
2:46 p.m. ET – There was a moment of confusion on whose 49ers jersey Min Woo Lee was sporting on his way into the arena. One chucklehead Twitterer even wondered if it was a rare O.J. Simpson 49ers jersey. But alas, it is Ricky Watters for … reasons? – Brendan Porath
2:31 p.m. ET – Matt Barrie has tossed to commercial twice now with mention of the SoFi Center plaza being a great place to come day-drink and enjoy the outdoor games. I think we missed that part when we went down there? – PJ Clark
2:26 p.m. ET – Honestly one of the most interesting things today is finding out exactly what these guys’ schedules have been the last 12 hours or so. Ludvig Aberg just shared that he got home at 3:30 a.m. local and slept a “couple hours” before re-loading for the day of TGL. Someone associated with the TGL told me they looked at the sports calendar and saw that nothing really owned Presidents Day or took over it, so they leaned into programming it heavy. But it’s an aggressive turnaround from a Sig Event to a daytime marathon. – Brendan Porath
2:13 p.m. ET– During halftime, I received an ESPN push notification for the highlight of Tommy Fleetwood’s ace in TGL practice that I mentioned earlier. A push notification from the Worldwide Leader in Sports to watch a highlight from screen golf practice. – PJ Clark
2:10 p.m. ET – TGL updated its hammer rules starting this week, and now each team has three hammers to throw whenever they choose to increase the hole’s point value by one. In the Triples format, four hammers were thrown. None were accepted. Are more hammers really that exciting if they aren’t accepted? – Adam Woodard
2:06 p.m. ET – Did… did we need three minutes on what Justin Thomas is eating for lunch? Let the man enjoy his brisket grilled cheese! – PJ Clark
2:04 p.m. ET – Is Matt Barrie a giant or is Wyndham that short or is the desk uneven? – Meg Adkins
1:59 p.m. ET – Justin Rose chiming in like he’s on a walkie talkie to try to get his earpiece turned up was fantastic. The fourth wall does not exist in the SoFi Dome. We’re talking directly to the truck. – PJ Clark
1:58 p.m. ET – “Wow I cannot believe that stayed there. TGL grass is a bit more sticky than real grass.” Wyndham Clark in the commentary box saying what everyone has seen and said for a month now. It’s the metaverse! It does not have to be this way!!!! – Brendan Porath
1:53 p.m. ET – Tommy Fleetwood banked a shot off a rock during his practice round and ended up making an ace on a Par 4! So it is possible to hole out on this thing. – PJ Clark
1:51 p.m. ET – After a month of this, I think we can say that Justin Rose and Billy Horschel are the two most committed to the bit. Rosey seems exceedingly into this – a showman competing his ass off! I enjoyed him popping Billy at the top when he asked if he “hit it off the toe” when Horschel’s drive did not clear a fairway bunker. – Brendan Porath
1:50 p.m. ET – Patrick Cantlay is once again discussing the EV of The Hammer, even with today’s new rules. Guy knows where his distressed debt is. – PJ Clark
1:43 p.m. ET – There seems to be some real issues with the sim today. Patrick Cantlay struggled to not wear it on his face. He airmailed the green by some 15 yards on the first hole. Then he was absolutely sure he hit a draw teeing off the second hole, and the ball flared right into the water. JT added that it looks like an absolute draw. Then he hit another approach way right and there was a hot mic huddle over near the ATL where they said something was “exaggerated” today and that “everything was going right.”
The player seems completely unconvinced of the readings they are getting. JT is also wearing it on his face after another one of his shots sailed right. – Brendan Porath
1:28 p.m. ET – Wyndham Clark, a self-professed Denver sports fan and Broncos nut, wearing a San Francisco 49ers jersey and hat into the arena is some first-rate pandering. Can Bay fans be won over that easily? – Brendan Porath
1:20 p.m. ET – Heading into the first commercial break, Matt Barrie notes that kids are in the crowd at the SoFi Dome given the school holiday. This is giving off “Camp Day’ vibes for a sub-.500 baseball team on a Tuesday afternoon in August. – PJ Clark
1:15 p.m. ET – “What a great clutch putt, so clutch. How integral or important was it to make that putt?” – Marty Smith putting the screws to Patrick Cantlay, who has been named the Bill Belichick of golf today. It’s unclear what kind of electric answer one should give to that question though.
1:02 p.m. ET – Not just that, Matt. We also got a golf shot within the first two minutes of the broadcast instead of having to wait for 15 minutes! Maybe the TGL suits are listening to us … – Adam Woodard
1:00 p.m. ET – Finally we get a full team walkout vs individually. Getting into gameplay asap helps a lot with the viewing experience. – Matt Rouches
