Billy Horschel's 18-Footer Completes Atlanta Drive's Comeback for the First SoFi Cup, 4-3 Over New York

Down 3-0 with four holes left in what could have been the final match of the season, Billy Horschel made a prediction. "I said, 'this is going to be an epic comeback,' and it was," Horschel said. "It was unbelievable." Atlanta Drive GC scored four straight points over three holes, Horschel buried an 18-foot birdie on the Hammer at the 14th, and Atlanta beat New York Golf Club 4-3 on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., to sweep the best-of-three Finals and win the first SoFi Cup.

Atlanta is the first champion in TGL history. It finished the job the same way it won so much of the season: patient for most of the night, then lethal when the Hammer came out.

New York Controls the Night

New York came in needing a win to force a winner-take-all Match 3, after losing Match 1 on a final-hole lip-out the night before. Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young went out again for New York. Atlanta went with Horschel, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay, with Lucas Glover watching from the stands.

The first six holes were halved. New York broke through on the par-3 seventh, when Thomas' tee shot rolled long into a back-left bunker and Schauffele stuck New York's inside five feet. Atlanta conceded, and New York led 1-0.

The eighth hole, Bluebonnet, produced the controversy of the night. Thomas was lining up an 11-foot par putt when Schauffele threw the Hammer. The question was whether Thomas had already addressed the ball, which would have made the throw too late. After a review by officials, it was ruled that Thomas had not fully addressed it, and the Hammer stood. After some back and forth between the teams, Atlanta declined, and New York led 2-0. It was a mirror image of Match 1, when a late Schauffele Hammer was ruled too late.

Schauffele added a birdie on the 10th to make it 3-0, and the 11th was halved. With four holes left, New York was on the verge of forcing a third match.

The Comeback Begins

Atlanta needed points in bunches, and it had not yet thrown a Hammer. On the par-3 12th, Cantlay hit his tee shot to four feet. Atlanta threw the Hammer, and New York declined. 3-1.

On the 13th, Schauffele's approach found a bunker, and Atlanta threw the Hammer again. New York declined again. 3-2.

Then came the 14th. Horschel had walked onto the green and set the ball down when Atlanta's Hammer went up. "Next thing you know, there was a Hammer thrown," Horschel said. As the team discussed it, Horschel made the same kind of promise that had swung Match 1. "Listen, if they accept, I'm making this putt," Horschel said.

New York accepted. Fowler, in a bunker, splashed out to four feet. Horschel stood over an 18-footer that broke two ways over a sharp ridge, with Thomas giving the read. "He gave me the perfect read, and I did a great job of following his direction and the putt went in," Horschel said.

It went in. Atlanta led 4-3, its first lead of the night, and Horschel lost it in the best way. "Two feet out I knew it was in the hole, and I blacked out," Horschel said. Horschel later admitted to yelling, "This is my effin' house!" multiple times. Thomas' response was dry. "They picked up on that, Billy, I think," Thomas said.

The Last Hole

New York had one more shot. On the par-5 15th, New York threw the Hammer before the tee shots, making the hole worth two points and putting a winner-take-all Match 3 on the line. Cantlay and Young both missed the green. Cantlay pitched from 60 feet to about a foot. Young needed to hole his eagle chip to force a third match, and it narrowly slid by. Cantlay tapped in for birdie, the hole was halved and Atlanta had the title.

Cantlay, Atlanta's anchor, embraced the role. "I like being in that spot, in that anchor spot, and the boys played great tonight," Cantlay said. Cantlay also paid tribute to a teammate. "No surprise, Billy Horschel made another putt worth two points and that's kind of been all season," Cantlay said.

Where It Turned

The Hammer story of the night is almost a reverse image of Match 1. On Monday, New York's caution with the Hammer left points on the table. On Tuesday, New York used it well early, banking a point on the eighth after the review, and played the first 11 holes nearly perfectly. The problem was the finish. Facing Atlanta Hammers on the 12th and 13th, New York declined both times with the opponent in better position, a reasonable call each time that still cost a point apiece. On the 14th, with Fowler in a bunker, New York accepted, betting that Horschel would not make an 18-footer over a ridge. That bet lost.

Atlanta, meanwhile, waited. It did not throw a single Hammer in the first 11 holes, even while trailing, and then threw three in a row the moment it had a clear edge on each hole. Four points in three holes is what that patience bought.

Champions

Horschel, Cantlay, Thomas and Glover hoisted the SoFi Cup and split the $9 million first prize. New York's four players, including Matt Fitzpatrick, split $4.5 million.

Atlanta's season reads like a blueprint. It went 4-1-0 in the regular season, clinched with a 6-3 win over Boston Common Golf, routed The Bay in the semifinal and then won two Finals matches by a combined two points. In the clincher, Atlanta threw three Hammers in the final four holes and came away with four points.

Thomas, who brought much of the energy to the league's first season, summed it up. "It's completely exceeded my expectations," Thomas said. "It's nice to be ending the season up here with the trophy." Glover, asked about his teammates, kept it simple: "Good ... really good. Competitive as hell."

New York's Run Ends

New York was the story of the playoffs until the last four holes. A team that started 0-2 and needed a must-win against Boston Common to make the field upset the top seed and pushed the champions to the final stroke twice. For a team that sat in last place in January, that is a season worth remembering.

Fowler pointed to the obvious. "Billy and the guys, last night and tonight, they made more putts than us, and that's a lot of what it came down to," Fowler said. Schauffele was gracious. "They earned it for sure," Schauffele said, adding that New York's season was anything but bland. Young said the level of emotion and intensity across both nights was really high, and anyone who watched would agree.

The Take

TGL needed a finish like this. The first season had its slow nights and its lopsided scores, but the Finals delivered two matches decided on the final hole, Hammer calls under review, and a champion that won by doing the hardest thing in this format: staying patient while trailing, then cashing every opportunity.

Horschel will be remembered for the putt and the scream. Cantlay will be remembered for the anchor. Thomas will be remembered for the read. Atlanta, as a team, will be remembered as the first. "We want to come in here and entertain. That's what this is about," Horschel said. Mission accomplished, and then some.

For more, see the PGA TOUR recap (opens in a new tab) and TGL's story on the comeback (opens in a new tab).

Sources: TGL, PGA TOUR, Golf Digest, The Associated Press. More TGL coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Megan Briggs/TGL.