Rose, Fleetwood and Morikawa Send New York Home as Los Angeles Clinches the No. 2 Seed, 6-3

A year ago, New York Golf Club ended Los Angeles Golf Club's season in the semifinals. On Monday night at SoFi Center, the roles flipped. Los Angeles Golf Club built a 4-1 lead through Triples, held off a New York charge in Singles and closed it out with a two-point final hole, beating New York Golf Club 6-3 to clinch a playoff spot and the No. 2 seed. The same result ended New York's season.

It was a must-win night for New York and a golden chance for Los Angeles, and only one of them played like it.

The Setup

Los Angeles went with Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Collin Morikawa, with Sahith Theegala sitting out. New York sent out Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young, with Xander Schauffele inactive.

New York arrived at 1-3-0 after a 9-2 loss to Boston Common Golf closed out a rough doubleheader last week. Los Angeles came in at 2-2-0, fresh off a 7-3 win over Atlanta Drive GC. Win, and Los Angeles was in. Lose, and things got messy.

The history between these two made it juicier. In Season 1, Los Angeles cruised through the regular season as the No. 1 overall seed, then ran into a New York team that had backed into the bracket at No. 4 and lost 6-4 in the semifinals. New York rode that upset to the SoFi Cup Finals. A year later, the stakes were reversed: New York needed a win just to keep breathing, and Los Angeles had a chance to slam the door.

There was a celebrity in the house too. Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce was on hand as a special guest announcer for the closing stretch of the regular season, and it was Kelce's first time at SoFi Center. "It's incredible," Kelce said. "The scale of it, you don't get a good grasp when you're watching on TV. It is massive."

Los Angeles Comes Out Swinging

Los Angeles wasted no time showing its hand. On the very first hole, with New York in for par and Los Angeles looking at a seven-footer for birdie, Los Angeles threw the Hammer. New York declined rather than risk two points, and Los Angeles led 1-0 without needing to hit the putt.

New York answered on No. 2, "Caverns," to make it 1-1. Young nearly gave New York the lead on No. 4, blasting a 22-foot bunker shot that stopped 11 inches from the hole, but the hole was halved.

The match turned on No. 6, "Temple." Fowler's approach found the penalty area, and Los Angeles took the hole for a 2-1 lead. Then Rose went to work. On No. 7, the par-3 "Cliffhanger," Rose stuck a tee shot to two feet, three inches, and Los Angeles moved ahead 3-1.

On No. 8, "Stinger," Morikawa hit an approach to five feet, and Los Angeles threw the Hammer again. New York declined, losing a third straight hole, and the lead grew to 4-1.

New York had one more swing in Triples. After Morikawa's drive found the rough on No. 9, New York threw the Hammer. Fleetwood answered with a 78-yard approach to just under six feet. Fitzpatrick had a 15-footer for eagle that would have won two points, but it slid by, and Morikawa calmly rolled in the five-foot birdie putt to halve the hole. Los Angeles carried a 4-1 lead into Singles.

New York's Last Stand

New York needed a fast start in Singles and got one. Fowler stuck an approach to eight feet on No. 10, New York threw the Hammer, and Los Angeles declined. That cut the deficit to 4-2.

Los Angeles steadied on the next two holes. On No. 11, both sides made birdie. On No. 12, both made par. Each hole was halved, and with every halve, New York's runway got shorter.

Fowler had a chance to cut the lead to one on No. 13 but missed a birdie putt, and the hole was halved again. On No. 14, Fitzpatrick kept New York breathing by holing a 23-footer to win the hole, trimming the lead to 4-3 with one to play.

That set up a winner-take-all scenario on No. 15, with a Hammer in play and the season on the line for New York. It ended quickly. Young's tee shot went into the penalty area, and Los Angeles won the hole, collecting two points for a 6-3 final.

It was a cruel finish for New York, which had clawed back from three points down to within one, only to have the last hole get away immediately. For Los Angeles, the final hole was a reminder of how quickly TGL can turn. One errant swing turned a nervy one-point lead into a comfortable margin, and the two points also padded the holes-won column that breaks ties in the standings.

The Gamble and the Firepower

Los Angeles threw the Hammer early and often, and the strategy paid off. Its throws on No. 1 and No. 8 both drew concessions, and with a Hammer in play on the final hole, a one-point lead became a three-point win.

Rose explained the logic in simple terms. "When you've got that firepower on your bench, it's easy to kind of say, 'Hey, I'll trust my team and we'll take a gamble,'" Rose said.

That firepower showed. Rose's dart on No. 7, Morikawa's approach on No. 8 and Fleetwood's 78-yard approach on No. 9 were each the kind of shot that wins TGL holes. Los Angeles won four of the first eight holes, and it never trailed.

New York's three points came on No. 2, on Fowler's Hammer hole at No. 10 and on Fitzpatrick's long putt at No. 14. Its Hammers on No. 9 and No. 10 produced a halve and a point. On a night when it needed everything to go right, a penalty area on No. 6 and another on No. 15 proved fatal.

What It Means

Los Angeles improved to 3-2-0 and clinched a semifinal berth as the No. 2 seed. That is a welcome turnaround for a team that was the No. 1 overall seed in Season 1 but got bounced by No. 4 New York in the semifinals. Los Angeles looked shaky earlier this season, opening with a 7-5 loss to Boston, but now it has momentum heading into the postseason.

New York finished 1-4-0, and last season's runner-up is done. Fitzpatrick offered a fair-minded assessment. "I felt we played really well for three of the five matches we played, and we got one win," Fitzpatrick said.

The last playoff spot comes down to Tuesday night, when The Bay Golf Club and Jupiter Links Golf Club meet at 9 p.m. ET. The winner is in. The semifinals are set for March 17 as a doubleheader, with the best-of-three SoFi Cup Finals beginning March 23.

The Takeaway

Los Angeles may have the deepest collection of star power in the league, and on Monday, that star power showed up when it mattered. Rose, Fleetwood and Morikawa each produced a defining shot, and the team's aggressive approach with the Hammer kept New York on its heels from the first hole.

Revenge was not exactly the stated motive, but it is hard to ignore the symmetry. New York ended Los Angeles' season a year ago. This time, Los Angeles returned the favor, and it heads into the semifinals with its three biggest names all hitting the shots that win matches.

Full details are on the official TGL match page (opens in a new tab), the PGA TOUR recap (opens in a new tab) and ESPN's highlights (opens in a new tab).

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

Photo: TGL.