Four Inches in Overtime: Boston Common Edges Jupiter Links 7-6 to Clinch the No. 1 Seed

Four inches. After 15 holes, a pin-rattling overtime opener and a Rory McIlroy recovery shot that people will be replaying for years, that is what separated Boston Common Golf from Jupiter Links Golf Club on Sunday night at SoFi Center. Hideki Matsuyama's final shot of the closest-to-the-pin shootout finished four inches inside Max Homa's, and Boston won 7-6 in overtime to lock up the No. 1 seed for the TGL playoffs.

Jupiter, meanwhile, walked away with the most useful consolation prize in the league: a point in the standings that kept its season alive for one more night.

There was a symmetry to it. In Season 1, these two clubs also needed extra time, and Jupiter won that one 4-3 in overtime, handing Boston one of the many close losses that defined a winless first year. This time the overtime coin landed on Boston's side. Jupiter came in at 1-2-0, nearly a month removed from its 8-6 win over Atlanta Drive GC on Feb. 2 and sitting outside the top four.

A Record Drive and a Tiger-Sized Gamble

Boston rolled out McIlroy, Keegan Bradley and Matsuyama. Jupiter countered with Akshay Bhatia, Max Homa and Tom Kim, with Tiger Woods in the building but not playing.

McIlroy, the reigning Masters champion, set the tone with the first swing of the night, a 392.3-yard drive that set a new SoFi Center record and broke Bradley's previous mark of 384 yards. Bradley then rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt, and Boston led 1-0.

Jupiter answered fast. Kim's first swing of the night, a 52-foot chip, nearly dropped, and Bhatia chipped to three feet on No. 2 for a birdie that tied the match at 1-1. On No. 3, "Fallen Pine," Woods pushed his team to throw the Hammer early, before Jupiter's second shot. Boston accepted, and Bhatia made the gamble look brilliant by draining a 15-footer from the fringe for birdie. That was worth two points, and Jupiter led 3-1.

Boston Punches Back

Boston needed only one hole to start chipping away. On No. 4, Boston threw the Hammer, Jupiter declined, and the gap shrank to 3-2.

Then Matsuyama nearly broke the building. On "Cliffhanger," a par 3, Matsuyama's tee shot came within a whisker of the first ace of the night. Boston threw the Hammer, Jupiter accepted and made par, and Boston tapped in for birdie. The two-point swing flipped the match to a 4-3 Boston lead.

Matsuyama came up big again on No. 8. With a Hammer in play and two points on the line, Matsuyama holed a six-foot putt to halve the hole, saving Boston from a two-point gut punch. Boston also pocketed a point on "Storrowed," its own Team Hole, when Jupiter conceded an eagle putt, and Boston carried a 5-3 lead through Triples and into Singles.

Singles: Trading Blows

McIlroy and Bhatia opened Singles on "Caverns," the par 5, by trading birdies, and the hole was halved. On No. 11, Jupiter threw the Hammer ahead of Homa's eight-foot birdie try. Boston declined, and Jupiter crept within 5-4 with four holes left.

Bradley restored the cushion on No. 12, "On the Rocks." Bradley hit the par 3 to 10 feet and made the birdie putt for a 6-4 lead.

Then came the shot of the night, and maybe the shot of TGL so far. On No. 13, "Stinger," McIlroy's tee shot clipped the rocks and bounced into the water. Facing a long recovery, McIlroy hit a 240-yard draw that curled to seven feet, a shot Links Nation compared to McIlroy's famous approach on the 15th hole at Augusta National in the final round of the 2025 Masters. McIlroy made the par putt to halve the hole. Boston led 6-4 with two to play, needing just one more point to win.

Boston had two chances to finish it, and Jupiter took both away. On No. 14, Homa made par to win the hole for Jupiter, while Matsuyama missed an eight-foot putt that would have ended the match. That made it 6-5.

On the par-5 15th, "Stone & Steeple," Kim reached the green in two and rolled in a six-foot birdie putt to beat Bradley and tie the match at 6-6. After trailing for most of the night, Jupiter had forced overtime.

Four Inches in Overtime

TGL's overtime is a best-of-three closest-to-the-pin shootout, and Bradley got Boston off to a dream start. Bradley's shot hit the flagstick and settled just over two feet from the cup, winning the first matchup.

Jupiter pulled even when McIlroy's shot found a greenside bunker. That set up a decisive third matchup between Matsuyama and Homa, and it came down to the smallest of margins. Matsuyama's ball finished four inches closer than Homa's, and Boston had the 7-6 win.

For Matsuyama, it capped a night of contrasts: a near ace, a clutch six-footer with two points at stake, a missed eight-footer that would have won it in regulation, and then the winning shot in the shootout.

Boston won the opening hole, the Hammer exchange on No. 4 and the two-point birdie on Cliffhanger. Jupiter's biggest blow was the two-point Hammer on No. 3, and its Hammer on No. 11 produced another point when Boston declined. The two teams combined for five Hammers in regulation, which made for a relentlessly swingy night.

Bhatia was Jupiter's spark, with the chip on No. 2 and the 15-footer on No. 3. Bradley had a birdie on No. 1, a birdie on No. 12 and the overtime shot that hit the pin. McIlroy's record drive and the Stinger recovery were the highlights, but neither was a point winner by itself.

What It Means

Boston finished the regular season at 4-1-0 and clinched the No. 1 overall seed, a stunning turnaround for a franchise that went winless in Season 1. Boston had already locked up a playoff spot with its 9-2 win over New York last week.

McIlroy acknowledged the night swung back and forth and said Jupiter played well. "We knew we clinched the playoffs anyways, but obviously a great way to end the regular season with a win," McIlroy said.

Bradley put it in civic terms. "We want to get better every time we come in here, but this means a lot to us, playing for the city of Boston," Bradley said.

On the other side, Woods sounded every bit the competitor. "It looked like we had it and it was frustrating. I feel for the guys," Woods said.

The overtime point gave Jupiter a 1-2-1 record and kept its playoff hopes alive. The equation is simple: Jupiter must beat The Bay in Tuesday night's regular-season finale to get in. Before that, Los Angeles and New York meet Monday night with the last playoff spots still being sorted out. The semifinals are set for March 17.

The Takeaway

Boston has been the league's best team all season, and this night showed why. Even when McIlroy found the water, even when Matsuyama missed a putt to win it, Boston kept producing answers. Jupiter showed plenty too, with Woods pushing the Hammer early and Kim delivering under pressure on the final hole.

In a league built on chaos, Boston is learning how to win the close ones. A year ago, that was the problem. Boston lost tight matches, failed to convert big moments and spent the postseason watching. This version of Boston has depth, a bulletproof attitude and now the top seed, which means the easiest possible path to the SoFi Cup Finals, at least on paper. Jupiter has a tougher road, but after the way Kim and Bhatia played on Sunday, nobody in the field will want to see Woods' team in a one-match playoff.

Full details are on the official TGL match page (opens in a new tab), and the PGA TOUR recap (opens in a new tab) has the hole-by-hole account.

Sources: TGL, PGA TOUR, ESPN, Links Nation. More TGL coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: TGL.