Schauffele's Hammer and Walk-Off Chip-In Send New York to the Playoffs, 10-6 Over Boston Common

Xander Schauffele had not played a TGL match in weeks. On Monday night, with a playoff spot on the line and Boston Common Golf suddenly in front, Schauffele threw the Hammer, buried an 11-foot birdie and then finished the job with a chip-in from the fringe on the final hole. New York Golf Club beat Boston Common Golf 10-6 on March 3, 2025, at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., grabbing the fourth and final spot in the first TGL playoffs.

It was a win-and-in match, and New York won it by scoring five points over the last four holes. Boston, which had battled back to take the lead, leaves the inaugural season without a win.

Win and In

The stakes were simple. New York arrived 1-2-1 and needed a win. Boston came in 0-3-1 and needed a win plus more help. Jupiter Links Golf Club, which plays Atlanta Drive GC on Tuesday, was watching too, because a New York win would close the door on Tiger Woods' team as well.

New York went with Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young, with Matt Fitzpatrick out. Schauffele was back after missing several matches with a rib injury. Boston rolled out Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott, with Hideki Matsuyama sitting. Boston also had some unusual motivation: an inspirational note from David Ortiz, who knows something about rallying from deep holes against New York teams.

New York Builds a Cushion

New York won the opening hole, and Boston picked up a point to even it. Then Scott made the first big shot of the night on the fourth, chipping in from 23 feet, 5 inches to give Boston a 2-1 lead.

New York answered with the Hammer on the par-3 fifth. Fowler put his tee shot inside six feet, New York threw the Hammer, and Schauffele rolled in the birdie putt for two points and a 3-2 lead. New York kept stacking points from there, and by the time the match reached the ninth, it led 5-2.

Boston was not done. On the ninth, Boston threw the Hammer and Scott cashed it with a short putt, two points that cut the deficit to 5-4 at the turn. The TGL account summed up the mood in the building: "we've got ourselves a match!"

Boston's Best Stretch of the Season

The start of Singles was the best golf Boston played all year. McIlroy beat Young on the 10th to tie the match 5-5. On the 11th, Bradley poured in a 16-footer to beat Fowler and give Boston a 6-5 lead. That made three straight holes won for Boston, its first three-hole winning streak of the season. For a moment, the team that had not won a match all year looked like it might steal a playoff spot on the final regular-season Monday.

Scott later described the feeling plainly. "I felt like we were clawing back and had the momentum, but again, we're playing against great players," Scott said.

Schauffele Takes Over

That is where Schauffele stepped in. On the par-3 12th, matched against Scott, Schauffele threw the Hammer, then made an 11-foot birdie putt to win the hole for two points. New York led 7-6. The swing did more than flip the scoreboard. Because the SoFi Cup tiebreaker is total holes won, Boston was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention at that moment.

Young piled on at the 13th. McIlroy found a greenside bunker on the long par 4 and hit a poor shot over the green complex, and Young beat McIlroy to make it 8-6.

The 14th produced the near miss of the night, twice. Fowler and Bradley both came within inches of the first hole-in-one in TGL history, Bradley stopping 3 feet, 7 inches from the cup, and the hole was halved.

That left the 15th, a par 5, with Boston needing two points to force overtime. Boston threw the Hammer. Scott's long birdie putt came up short, and Schauffele chipped in from the fringe from about seven feet to win the hole and the match. Final: New York 10, Boston 6.

The Hammer math is what decided it. Boston used its Hammers aggressively and cashed one for two points on the ninth, which is exactly how a trailing team should use them. But New York won both Hammer holes in Singles that mattered. Schauffele's throw on the 12th came with a makeable look and turned a one-point deficit into a one-point lead. Boston's throw on the 15th was a necessity, not a choice, and New York had the better ball when it counted. Five points in four holes is a lot in a 15-hole match, and every one of them came with Boston pressing.

It was also a showcase for Schauffele's short game. The 11-footer on the 12th was a pressure putt with the season on it. The chip on the 15th, from the fringe with Boston needing a miracle, was the kind of shot that ends a match in a building designed for highlights.

Quotes and Context

New York's season has been a climb. It lost its first two matches, falling 9-2 to The Bay Golf Club in the league's first match and then 4-0 in a shutout loss to Atlanta. It routed Jupiter 10-3 in February and lost to Los Angeles Golf Club in overtime a week ago after leading 4-0. Fowler summed up the arc. "After going out 0-2, we were just trying to dig and find something," Fowler said.

Schauffele, in his return, kept it short. "It was a good team win," Schauffele said, adding that it was nice to get the juices flowing again.

For Boston, Monday was the season in miniature. A strong rally, a lead in Singles and then a closing kick from the other side that turned it into a loss. Boston dropped an overtime decision to Jupiter in January, lost to Los Angeles and The Bay, and fell to Atlanta 6-3 a week ago. "Anytime you have a loss, it's disappointing," Scott said.

McIlroy, who co-founded the league with Woods, was reflective rather than sour. "It's been a lot of fun," McIlroy said of the first season.

The Bracket Is Set

New York finishes 2-2-1 with five points and is the No. 4 seed. Boston finishes 0-4-1 with one point. Jupiter is eliminated as well, so both co-founders' teams will watch the playoffs from the outside.

The semifinals are March 17 and 18. New York gets top-seeded Los Angeles, which clinched No. 1 by beating The Bay in Monday's opener, in a rematch of the overtime thriller from a week ago. The Bay and Atlanta will meet in the other semifinal, with Atlanta still able to jump to No. 2 if it wins at least 11 holes against Jupiter on Tuesday.

The Take

New York did not look like a playoff team in January. It got there by finding a closer. Schauffele's night, a Hammer birdie on 12 and a walk-off chip-in on 15, was exactly what a team needs from a star in a one-match season-saver. Fowler and Young did their part, especially in Triples, but the decisive points came from the guy who had been watching from the sidelines.

Boston deserved better than 0-4-1 based on the talent on its roster, and Monday showed why it never got there. It took the lead, then gave back five points in four holes. In TGL, that is all it takes.

New York, meanwhile, heads to the semifinals with nothing to lose against a Los Angeles team it already took to overtime.

For the official breakdown, see the TGL match recap (opens in a new tab) and the PGA TOUR recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: TGL, PGA TOUR, ESPN, CBS Sports, Field Level Media, Sky Sports. More TGL coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: TGL.