Justin Rose Makes TGL's First Albatross as Los Angeles Holds Off Jupiter Links 8-4

Justin Rose has won a major, an Olympic gold medal and a FedExCup. Until Tuesday night, he had never made an albatross. He fixed that on the first hole of Singles at SoFi Center, holing his second shot from 227 yards at the par-5 10th for the first albatross in TGL history, and Los Angeles Golf Club rode it to an 8-4 win over Jupiter Links Golf Club on Jan. 20, 2026.

"That's my first ever albatross. No joke," Rose said afterward, per the PGA TOUR recap (opens in a new tab).

It was not quite the cruise the albatross suggested. Los Angeles led 5-1 after Rose's shot, then watched Jupiter claw back to within a point at 5-4. It took a well-timed Hammer at the 14th and a 17-foot Collin Morikawa birdie to put the match away, and it took Sahith Theegala's par at the last to make the final margin look comfortable.

Long drives and a baited Hammer

Los Angeles sent Rose, Morikawa and Theegala, the same trio that lost to Boston Common in the season's second match. Jupiter again went without Tiger Woods, who was still recovering and coaching from the bench, and played Max Homa, Kevin Kisner and Akshay Bhatia.

The fireworks started off the tee. On the par-5 second, "Pick Yer Plunder," Morikawa unloaded a 342-yard drive, the longest ever on that hole. Los Angeles then threw the Hammer, essentially daring Jupiter to accept. Jupiter took the bait, Bhatia slid a seven-foot birdie putt by, and Los Angeles tapped in for birdie to take a 2-0 lead.

Jupiter's answer came at the par-3 fifth, "Oh Chute." Bhatia drew his tee shot inside five feet while Los Angeles was left with 18 feet. Woods threw the Hammer from the bench, and Los Angeles declined, cutting the lead to 2-1.

Theegala then took over the sixth, "Alpine," bombing a 329-yard drive and later rolling in a seven-footer for par to win the hole. Los Angeles led 3-1.

Los Angeles closed Triples on its own Team Hole, "Showtime," the par-5 ninth. Kisner found the penalty area off the tee, Jupiter conceded, and Los Angeles took a 4-1 lead into Singles.

Rose finds the bottom of the cup

The 10th was the par-5 "Sterling," and Rose had 227 yards for his second shot. He said later that he was dead set on the shot and loved the way it felt off the club. The ball tracked, landed and dropped for a two on a par 5. Rose had never made an albatross in his professional career. Now he has one in a simulator building in Palm Beach Gardens, in front of a crowd and a national TV audience, and it counts.

It is hard to overstate how rare that shot is. Albatrosses are scarcer than holes-in-one on the major tours, because they require a long par 5, a big drive and a second shot that finds the cup from well over 200 yards. TGL's simulator holes are built for exactly that kind of risk, with reachable par 5s that reward aggression, but in more than a season of matches nobody had pulled it off until Rose. It also came at the perfect moment for his team, on the opening hole of Singles, turning a three-point cushion into four before Jupiter could build any momentum.

Rose joked that he expected his caddie to argue that it does not count. The scoreboard disagreed. Los Angeles led 5-1.

The 11th was the par-4 "Stinger," and Morikawa and Bhatia both kept their tee shots under the overhanging rock, a first this season for each. The hole was halved, and Jupiter trailed by four with four holes left.

Jupiter's push, and LA's answer

Jupiter did not fold. At the 12th, Theegala found the penalty area and Jupiter won the hole to make it 5-2. At the 13th, Homa made birdie with the Hammer in play for a two-point swing, and suddenly it was 5-4 with two holes to go.

This is where Los Angeles' patience paid off. The club had saved two Hammers for the end. At the 14th, with Morikawa already in for birdie after a 17-foot putt, Los Angeles threw one. Jupiter, trailing by one, had no real choice but to accept and try to halve. Bhatia's 10-foot birdie try slid by, and Los Angeles won two points for a 7-4 lead that ended the match.

Theegala added a par at the 15th to win the last hole and make the final 8-4. The new holes delivered all night, too. At "The Last Toll," a new par 3 with a bridge tower in the line, Kisner and Theegala both threaded tee shots through the window in the structure.

Bhatia was honest about the emotional whiplash of the format. "Obviously losing sucks, but when you pull something off it's the best feeling in the world," he said.

Why this one mattered

For Los Angeles, the win stopped a slide before it could start. LA was the No. 1 seed in the 2025 regular season and opened 2026 with a 7-5 loss to Boston Common, the first win in Boston history. An 0-2 start in a five-match season would have been a serious hole. Instead LA is 1-1 and back in the playoff picture.

The Hammer management was the difference again. Los Angeles threw two Hammers that Jupiter accepted and won both of them, for four points. It declined Jupiter's Hammer at the fifth to limit the damage to one point. Jupiter got three points from the two Hammer holes that went its way, one from the decline at the fifth and two from Homa at the 13th, but the one it accepted at the 14th cost it the match.

Morikawa was the quiet star: the record drive at the second, the stinger at the 11th, the clinching birdie at the 14th. Theegala made the par putt that won the sixth and closed out the 15th. And Rose, who lost a Singles hole to Rory McIlroy in LA's opener, now owns one of the signature shots in the league's short history.

There is also a lesson in how Los Angeles used the Hammer early. Throwing at the second, after Morikawa's record drive, put the decision on Jupiter at a moment when Los Angeles held every advantage on the hole. Jupiter accepted and paid two points for it. LA then declined Jupiter's throw at the fifth when the math was against it. Taking the points that are offered and refusing the ones that are risky is not glamorous, but it is how good TGL teams build cushions, and it is why the albatross felt like a bonus rather than a lifeline.

For Jupiter, the numbers are grim. The club is 0-2 and has lost five straight matches dating to last season. It has been outscored 16-7 across two matches, and while the 5-4 push showed fight, the club keeps losing the key exchanges. Bhatia, for his part, kept the perspective that has made TGL work for players. "I think it's just exciting," he said of the format.

Standings and schedule

After five matches of Season 2, Atlanta leads at 2-0, Boston Common is 1-0, Los Angeles and New York are 1-1, The Bay is 0-1 and Jupiter is 0-2.

TGL returns Monday, Jan. 26, with Boston Common against The Bay. Jupiter gets a week off before facing unbeaten Atlanta Drive on Feb. 2. Los Angeles is back Feb. 9 against The Bay. Jupiter's previous match, an 8-3 loss to New York, is recapped on Undrafted, and the official match page is on tglgolf.com (opens in a new tab).

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

One swing from 227 yards gave TGL its first albatross. Two smart Hammers gave Los Angeles its first win of the season.

Photo: TGL.