There have been no bumps in the road thus far for Atlanta Drive GC. Fresh off a championship in the inaugural season of TGL, the Georgia-based squad has continued to roll with Tuesday evening’s commanding 7-4 victory over The Bay Golf Club serving as a perfect continuation of the team’s second season.
Despite the stress-free nature of the result, Billy Horschel, Patrick Cantlay and Atlanta newcomer Chris Gotterup found themselves in a fight early against Ludvig Åberg, Shane Lowry and Wyndham Clark. Down 2-1 after four holes — due to The Bay throwing two early hammers — Atlanta won two of the next three holes to claim the triples session by a slim 3-2 margin. Cantlay and Gotterup both chipped in from off the green in key moments to help build the advantage.
The Bay quickly tied the match with a win on No. 10, but it came at the cost of using its final hammer. Without the point multiplier at its disposal, The Bay could not match the output from Atlanta Drive with birdies coming from the blade of Gotterup and Horschel, along with a heady hammer throw by Cantlay.
Atlanta improved to 2-0 on the season and reclaimed the top spot in the standings, while The Bay dropped the first match of its second campaign.
Hmm …
It’s tough to sell a tech-based league that continues to have glitches. Players were left scratching their heads when Clark struck a 9-iron on the par-5 2nd that traveled north of 200 yards and ultimately found a virtual, watery grave. They laughed it off, made some jokes and were on their way, but the issues did not stop there.
Clark was at the center of it a second time when his tee shot on the par-3 12th could not be located on the green. Officials had to be brought onto the putting surface with one physically measuring from the hole where to place Clark’s ball.
Greenside changes paying dividends
Multiple modifications were made heading into the second season of TGL with a subtle one showing the biggest difference thus far. It’s not the hole designs. It’s not the larger green with more hole locations. Rather, it is the move to put have all the grass around the green down-grain. This allows players to play those fun, nippy chip-and-pitch shots and show off a little bit. Gotterup’s tricky shot below is proof of that.