Fleetwood's Surprise Hammer Sinks the Champs as Los Angeles Rallies Past Atlanta Drive 6-4 for a Finals Berth

Justin Rose did not even know the Hammer had been thrown. Rose looked up on No. 14 of Tuesday's semifinal and saw it lying on the ground, courtesy of Tommy Fleetwood, and Billy Horschel had to decide whether to play a five-footer for two points or give up one. Horschel conceded. Los Angeles Golf Club took a two-point lead it would not give back, and Fleetwood sealed it on the final hole as Los Angeles erased an early 4-1 deficit to beat Atlanta Drive GC 6-4 at SoFi Center.

That knocked out the defending champion and sent Los Angeles to the SoFi Cup Finals for the first time.

A Semifinal Rematch of the Regular Season

The No. 2 seed against the No. 3 seed had a little history. Los Angeles beat Atlanta 7-3 in February, but Atlanta was the team with a title to defend after sweeping New York in the first SoFi Cup Finals a year ago. Los Angeles, the No. 1 overall seed in Season 1, had been bounced in the semifinals that year and came in after clinching its spot with a 6-3 win over New York to close the regular season.

These two had produced drama before. In Season 1, Atlanta beat Los Angeles 6-5 in overtime on a Justin Thomas chip-in and a Cantlay shootout shot, one of the matches that built Atlanta's championship reputation. This season, Atlanta opened its title defense with a 6-4 win over New York, became the first team to clinch a playoff spot and finished 3-2-0, the same record as Los Angeles. Seeding came down to tiebreakers, and Los Angeles got the higher spot.

Atlanta sent out Chris Gotterup, Patrick Cantlay and Horschel. Los Angeles countered with Rose, Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala, who stepped in for Collin Morikawa.

Atlanta Strikes Early

For most of Triples, it looked like the defending champion's night. Gotterup rolled in a 14-foot birdie on the first hole for a 1-0 lead. On No. 3, Atlanta threw the Hammer, Los Angeles accepted, and Cantlay converted a birdie putt of roughly 10 feet. That was worth two points and a 3-0 lead.

Rose finally put Los Angeles on the board on No. 4, "Fore-0-Fore," with a 24-foot birdie putt that Pro Golf Now called the shot of the match. It made the score 3-1, but Atlanta kept pushing. On No. 6, "Stinger," Atlanta hit two great shots in a row and left Horschel a short putt. Atlanta threw the Hammer, Los Angeles declined, and Atlanta led 4-1.

Rose admitted afterward that a three-hole deficit in TGL rarely feels permanent. "I feel like so many times we've been three holes up and then, before you know it, you're in a tight match," Rose said.

Los Angeles Claws Back

Atlanta still led 4-1 through seven holes, and then the momentum flipped. On No. 8, Cantlay missed a four-foot putt, and Los Angeles tapped in for birdie to make it 4-2.

On No. 9, Gotterup's shot found the penalty area, and Los Angeles pounced with a Hammer to collect another point. That made it 4-3 heading into Singles, and the comeback was officially on.

Los Angeles kept the pressure on immediately in Singles. On No. 10, "The Spear," Rose put a second shot on the fringe and Cantlay's third sailed over the green. Los Angeles threw the Hammer, Atlanta quickly declined, and the match was tied at 4-4.

The Turn and the Gamble

Horschel kept Atlanta level on No. 11, saving par with a 10-footer to halve the hole. No. 12 was also halved, and the match moved to the final three holes tied.

Rose broke it on No. 13, "Cut the Sails," with a 16-foot birdie putt. Cantlay's 14-footer to match missed, and Los Angeles had its first lead of the night at 5-4.

Then came the decision of the night. On No. 14, Theegala had a four-footer and Horschel was looking at five feet for par after a birdie try ran by. From the Los Angeles bench, Fleetwood threw the Hammer. Rose had no idea. "I was unaware of it," Rose said. "Next thing I knew the thing was on the ground. So it was like, 'What the hell's going on here?'"

On the Atlanta side, Cantlay wanted to accept. Horschel declined, conceding the hole for one point and putting Atlanta down 6-4 with one to play. Horschel then made the putt anyway in practice, a cruel postscript. Fleetwood kept the explanation simple. "It just felt like the right thing to do," Fleetwood said.

Atlanta still had a lifeline. It threw its last Hammer before the tee shots on the par-5 15th, making the hole worth two points. A win would have tied the match at 6-6 and forced overtime.

Gotterup gave it a run, but an eagle putt stopped short. Fleetwood then rolled in a three-foot birdie putt to halve the hole, and Los Angeles was through, 6-4.

Los Angeles won five of the last eight holes and halved the other three. After trailing 4-1, Los Angeles outscored Atlanta 5-0 over the final eight holes. Its Hammers were the story: throws on No. 9, No. 10 and No. 14 all produced concessions or points, adding up to three of its six points.

Atlanta's Hammers on No. 3 and No. 6 produced three of its four points, but its final throw on No. 15 came up empty. Atlanta made just one point without the Hammer, Gotterup's birdie on the first hole.

Rose was the standout, with the 24-footer on No. 4 that steadied the team and the 16-footer on No. 13 that gave Los Angeles the lead. Fleetwood made the gutsiest call of the night and the clinching putt.

What It Means

Los Angeles is headed to the SoFi Cup Finals, a best-of-three series starting March 23. Its opponent would come from the second semifinal later that night, No. 1 Boston Common Golf against No. 4 Jupiter Links Golf Club. Match 1 of the Finals is set for Monday, March 23, at 9 p.m. ET, with Match 2 the following night and a third match only if needed. For a team that spent last postseason watching someone else lift the trophy, nearly a week off before the biggest series in the league is a welcome problem.

For Atlanta, it is the end of a title defense. Horschel had talked about how the competitive fire ramps up in the playoffs, and Atlanta brought plenty of it early. But once Los Angeles started throwing the Hammer, Atlanta never found an answer, and the Hammer decision on No. 14 will be second-guessed for a while.

The Takeaway

The biggest shot of the night might not have been a shot at all. Fleetwood's Hammer on No. 14 put Horschel in an impossible spot and turned a one-point lead into two. It was aggressive, it was unexpected even to Rose, and it worked.

Los Angeles looked rattled for six holes and then looked like the best team in the league for the next nine. That is a dangerous trait in a format where a single throw can swing two points, because a team that never panics is a team that keeps its Hammers for the right moment. If it plays the Finals the way it played the back half of this semifinal, the SoFi Cup will be a tough trophy for anyone to take from it.

Full details are on the official TGL match page (opens in a new tab), and the PGA TOUR recap (opens in a new tab) covers both semifinals.

Sources: TGL, PGA TOUR, CBS Sports, Pro Golf Now. More TGL coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: TGL.