TGL playoffs: What to watch in the championship matchup

1 hour ago 2

Mar 23, 2026, 11:40 AM ET

If the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament didn't get your heart rate up with enough upsets, the best-of-three finals of TGL's SoFi Cup that tees off Monday night might provide some drama.

In last week's semifinals, No. 4 seed Jupiter Links GC stunned No. 1 seed Boston Common Golf in a 9-5 rout, knocking reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy out of the playoffs.

No. 2 seed Los Angeles Golf Club rallied from a 4-1 deficit through seven holes to take down defending SoFi Cup champion Atlanta Drive Golf Club 6-4 in the first semifinals match.

"I think it just shows the quality that we have as a team, the quality of golfers that we have on the team," LA Golf Club star Justin Rose said. "And just the trust that over time the theory of large numbers will kind of play in your favor. I think that you have to think that way, and you have to trust the team and you have to trust the golf."

Jupiter GC was so bad during the inaugural TGL season in 2025 -- it finished 1-4 and captured only two points -- that injured star Tiger Woods began calling them the "Bad News Bears."

"Look what we did last year," Woods said last week. "OK, we skulled a bunker shot, almost killed some lady in the stands. Hit the flag. We had a shot-clock violation by me over a 4-footer. We just had some weird stuff.

"That's Bad News Bears stuff. But now the Bad News Bears can play."

How to watch the 2026 TGL playoffs, championship on ESPN

Match 1 starting lineups

No. 2 seed Los Angeles Golf Club

Justin Rose
Tommy Fleetwood
Sahith Theegala

No. 4 seed Jupiter Links Golf Club

Max Homa
Tom Kim
Kevin Kisner

LA Golf Club (Collin Morikawa, Rose and Theegala) defeated Jupiter Links (Akshay Bhatia, Homa and Kisner) 8-4 in the teams' regular-season match on Jan. 20.

LA Golf Club took a 4-1 lead in triples, but Jupiter Links rallied to cut its deficit to 5-4 heading into the 14th hole. Jupiter threw a hammer on the tee, doubling the points at stake, and Morikawa sank a 17-foot birdie putt to grab a 7-4 advantage.

That match included the only albatross in TGL history when Rose holed his second shot from 227 yards on No. 10 (Sterling) while playing Homa in singles.

Jupiter Links Golf Club has dominated singles matches this season, winning a league-high 16 points. It has been one of the best putting teams in TGL with a 72.7% on attempts inside 10 feet.

LA Golf Club has performed better in triples with 18 holes won for 20 points. LA has been much longer off the tee, with a 317.9-yard average.

The course

No. 1: Temple (par 4, 473 yards)
No. 2: Caverns (par 5, 569 yards)
No. 3: Set In Stone (par 3, 166 yards)
No. 4: The Jup Life (par 5, TBD yards)
No. 5: Fallen Pine (par 3, 164 yards)
No. 6: Loot on the Line (par 4, 377 yards)
No. 7: On the Rocks (par 3, 108 yards)
No. 8: Stinger (par 4, 416 yards)
No. 9: Showtime (par 5, TBD yards)
No. 10: Sterling (par 5, 535 yards)
No. 11: Alpine (par 4, 535 yards)
No. 12: Cenote (par 3, 264 yards)
No. 13: Cut the Sails (par 4, 337 yards)
No. 14: Cliffhanger (par 3, 151 yards)
No. 15: Stone & Steeple (par 5, 537 yards)

Course notes

No. 7 (On the Rocks): The par 3, which will be played during the triples portion of the first finals match, is probably Kim's favorite. He recorded the second-ever ace in TGL history in a regular-season win over The Bay Golf Club on March 3, hitting his tee shot past the flag and spinning it back into the cup.

In last week's victory against Boston Common, Kim hit his tee shot to two feet, three inches to set up a birdie to extend Jupiter Links' lead to 7-3.

Homa and Rose will hit tee shots on No. 7 on Monday night.

No. 8 (Stinger): Named after Jupiter Links "coach" Tiger Woods' famous screaming low drive, golfers will have to hit their drives lower than 50 feet to clear a natural rock formation that extends into the driving area.

Through the SoFi Cup semifinals, the Stinger hole had the most drives hit into penalty areas (six), including one by Theegala.

Kim and Fleetwood will hit tee shots on No. 8 on Monday night. According to TGL, Fleetwood had two of the three drives with the lowest apex on Stinger this season, including a 318.3-yard drive that was just 9.1 feet off the ground.

"It's the easiest shot for me to hit low and carry it far enough in a way," Fleetwood said last week. "I enjoy practicing that shot. I hit a similar shot on the golf course a lot, in terms of like a bullet driver, but obviously not that minus-one degree launch angle."

No. 12 (Cenote): The longest par 3 on the course, Cenote features a backstop, which golfers can choose to use to bring their tee shots back closer to the hole.

Jupiter Golf Links has dominated its competition on No. 12 with a 5-0-1 record. LA Golf Club hasn't been nearly as good with a 1-4-1 mark.

Kisner and Theegala will hit tee shots on No. 12 on Monday night. Kisner defeated Theegala in singles in the last matchup between the teams after Theegala's tee shot landed in a penalty area.

No. 14 (Cliffhanger): The par 3 is one of three holes in which L.A. Golf Club has dominated this season. L.A. went 2-0-0 on No. 6 (Loot on the Line), 3-0-0 on No. 13 (Cut the Sails) and 3-0-1 on No. 14.

L.A. Golf Club hit the green in each of the nine times it played those holes this season.

Justin Rose made the longest putt (15 feet, 10 inches) on No. 13 this season.