Boston Common Golf continues its dominance in the second TGL season, securing the top spot with the season’s biggest win while McIlroy and Thorbjörnsen shine.
On Monday evening at the SoFi Center, Boston Common Golf showcased their championship ambitions. In Match 6 of the second TGL season, Rory McIlroy’s team swept The Bay Golf Club 9-1. This decisive victory moves unbeaten Boston (2-0-0) to the top of the SoFi Cup Standings, tying with defending champions Atlanta Drive GC. For The Bay Golf Club, the loss marks a rough start with a 0-2-0 record.
Close Start Turns Into Disaster
The match seemed tight early on, tied 1-1 after two holes. However, from that point, long drives from Boston and penalty strokes against The Bay defined the game. The Bay lost four points to Boston after landing in penalty areas on holes 1, 5, 12, and 13. The loss of the ‘Team Hole’ at hole 9 was especially painful, as The Bay became the first team this season to lose their own Team Hole when Wyndham Clark missed a birdie putt from about 1.5 meters.
McIlroy and Thorbjörnsen Excel at TGL
Boston Common Golf delivered one highlight after another. Rory McIlroy broke several tee distance records, hitting the ball 327 meters at hole 10, surpassing the previous hole record by nearly 15 meters, and setting a personal best of 326.5 meters at hole 4. McIlroy praised his young teammate Michael Thorbjörnsen: ‘Michael has been a fantastic addition and adapted very easily to this style of golf.’ Thorbjörnsen showed nerves of steel on the greens, improving his singles record to 3-0-1 with key moments including an eagle putt from 3 meters at hole 4 to halve the hole, a birdie at hole 12, and a finishing eagle putt from almost 5 meters at hole 15. He remained composed, saying, ‘I’m just having a lot of fun. I’m not really thinking about how many points a hole is worth… I just try to enjoy and play good golf out here.’
Frustration and Fatigue Hit The Bay
The Bay Golf Club had a night to forget. Shane Lowry, visibly struggling with travel fatigue after spending 17 hours on a plane in the last 24 hours, did not make excuses but opened up about his condition: ‘I’m quite tired.’ Summarizing the team mood, Lowry said: ‘It wasn’t great, right? We just didn’t play very well. We fell behind early and for some reason, most of the night felt like we were in a bad position.’ Despite the defeat, there was a bright spot for The Bay as Wyndham Clark set a new TGL record with a massive 340-meter drive at hole 6. Ultimately, the stats showed Boston won 9 holes to The Bay’s single hole victory.