With Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy absent and no debut match curiosity, TGL needed a spark — or a competitive match — to keep up the hype during its third match.
Unfortunately, it failed to deliver, quickly becoming a snooze fest instead.
Fans saw no viral moments, like Kevin Kisner’s shank last week, no witty lines between players, nor any dramatic flair within the match itself. It was boring to watch, frankly, as Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, and Billy Horschel of the Atlanta Drive Golf Club defeated New York Golf Club 4-to-0. Thomas, Cantlay, and Horschel handed New York its second loss in three weeks.
“I think anything is more fun when you’re winning, so we made it very easy on ourselves, and I think we complemented each other’s games well,” Thomas said.
“It’s obviously a tough adjustment for any of us and all teams playing, but we somehow found a way to hit fairways and greens and made a couple of putts. That was a bonus.”
Thomas holed two putts from deep, which secured a pair of points for his team. But outside of that, the match did not feature many highlights. New York’s Cameron Young hit a couple of towering drives, but the soft-spoken Young barely uttered a word on the telecast. The same can be said for Cantlay.
Horschel, meanwhile, tried his hardest to entertain, with no more significant moment being his entrance into the SoFi Center itself. He donned a massive silver chain that read “Dirty Birds,” a homage to the Atlanta Falcons. Horschel then performed the “Dirty Bird” Dance, which originated in 1998, the year Atlanta lost to John Elway and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.
“[My teammates] knew it was coming. Obviously my wife and kids knew, and my middle daughter — they were doing the dance the other night on FaceTime. When they found out what the dance was, they looked it up on YouTube and saw it,” Horschel said.
“Listen, my kids love me, so hopefully, they gave me a good rating, and they liked what I did, but I’m sure they’re going to make fun of me at the same time, which is cool with me.”
Thomas was not enthused, however.
“I’d probably go back in time and not watch Billy do the “Dirty Bird” dance if I could because I will never be able to get that out of my mind,” the two-time PGA Championship winner said.
But after Horchel’s horrifying entrance, TGL did not deliver. Despite that, the start-up league has some luck in its favor. Woods and McIlroy will face off against each other on Monday, giving golf’s latest venture a much-needed rebound.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
