Rickie Fowler Closes It as New York Scores the Last Seven Points to Beat Tiger's Jupiter Links 8-3

Tiger Woods walked into SoFi Center on Tuesday night with a Hammer in his back pocket, a microphone on his collar and no clubs in his hands. He threw the Hammer on the very first hole. It was the high point of Jupiter Links Golf Club's evening. New York Golf Club spotted Jupiter a 3-1 lead, then scored the final seven points of the night to take an 8-3 decision on Jan. 13, 2026, sealed by Rickie Fowler's 14-foot birdie putt for two points at the 13th.

It was Jupiter's season debut and New York's first win since last March's semifinal, snapping a three-match losing streak that included both Finals losses to Atlanta and a last-hole defeat in this season's opener. The final margin also matters more than it looks, because total holes won is the tiebreaker if teams finish level in the standings.

"We were the 'Bad News Bears,' and we don't want to be the 'Bad News Bears 2.' No more sequels here," Woods said, per the PGA TOUR recap (opens in a new tab). The first half of the night felt like a fresh start. The second half felt like a rerun.

Tiger on the bench, Jupiter on top

Woods, still working back from back surgery, was inactive, as was Tom Kim. Jupiter Links Golf Club played Max Homa, Kevin Kisner and alternate Akshay Bhatia, with Woods running strategy and banter from the bench after Will Ferrell introduced him to the crowd as "some guy named Tiger." New York went with Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Cameron Young, giving Xander Schauffele the night off.

Fowler opened the match with a drive into a bunker, which he later explained with a laugh. "No. 1 was my first real competitive drive since August," he said, adding that he had been enjoying the dad life and some recovery time at home.

Homa took advantage, hitting Jupiter's approach inside nine feet. Woods did not wait. With New York still short of the green, he tossed the Hammer toward the putting surface, New York declined, and Jupiter led 1-0 to fist bumps all around.

Kisner kept it rolling at "The Spear," the second hole, striping an approach from 250 yards. Young answered by putting New York's approach in the water, and Jupiter went up 2-0 after New York conceded the birdie.

Young redeemed himself immediately at the par-3 third, "On the Rocks," sticking his tee shot to two feet for a 2-1 score. Jupiter got that point back on its own Team Hole, "The Jup Life," playing as the fourth. All three Jupiter players executed for an easy birdie while New York found the water for the second time, and Jupiter led 3-1.

A clock runs out, and so does Jupiter

Then the momentum vanished in about 40 seconds. Kisner let the shot clock expire before a 34-foot birdie attempt, drawing a one-stroke penalty. It was only the second shot clock violation in TGL history, and it opened the door. New York won the fifth and sixth with pars as Jupiter struggled on the green, and the match was tied 3-3.

The seventh was halved, and New York took its first lead of the night at the eighth, the next-to-last hole of Triples. Jupiter was facing a lengthy chip for birdie while New York had a 10-foot putt. New York threw the Hammer. Jupiter declined, conceding the point, and New York led 4-3.

New York did it again at the ninth, its own Team Hole, the par-5 "Big Apple." Another Hammer, another Jupiter decline, and New York took a 5-3 lead into Singles. That made four straight New York points, all of them after the shot clock moment.

Fitzpatrick's makeover and Fowler's finish

If there is a quiet storyline in the early weeks of Season 2, it is Fitzpatrick. He failed to win a Singles hole in all of 2025. Through two matches this season he is 3-0-1 in Singles, and the PGA TOUR's recap floated him as an early contender for most improved player.

He showed why at the 11th. Given a choice of three fairways, Fitzpatrick took on the toughest one, put his drive in the middle of it and made birdie to push the lead to 6-3. He also had one of the shots of the night at "Stinger," becoming the first player to get a driver over the overhanging rock on a shot that barely left the ground.

Jupiter's last stand came at the 13th. Needing points, Jupiter threw the Hammer to make the hole worth two. New York accepted, and Fowler, the same player whose first drive of the night found the sand, rolled in a 14-foot birdie putt to win both points. That made it 8-3 with two holes left and ended any chance of a Jupiter comeback. The final two holes were halved.

By the numbers

New York earned four points via the Hammer: one each when Jupiter declined at the eighth and ninth, and two when Fowler converted Jupiter's own Hammer at the 13th. Jupiter got one point out of its two Hammers, from the decline at the first.

The scoreboard split is stark. Jupiter won three of the first four holes. New York won every point after that, a 7-0 run across the last 11 holes. Over that stretch, Jupiter missed putts it had been making early, gave away a stroke to the clock and never forced New York to make a hard decision with the Hammer.

For Fowler, the night was a nice reintroduction. He started with a bunker and finished with the clincher. For Young, it was a wash that tilted positive: an approach in the water at the second, but the two-foot tee shot at the third that kept New York in touch when the match could have gotten away.

That five-point margin is not just style points. TGL breaks ties in the standings by total holes won, and in a league where every club plays only five regular season matches, a lopsided night in January can decide a playoff seed in March. New York lost its opener by two and won this one by five, which leaves it on the right side of that ledger after two matches. Jupiter, meanwhile, starts its season five in the red on the tiebreaker, a hole it will have to dig out of with the same short-handed roster.

That roster is the other issue. With Woods sidelined and Kim inactive, Jupiter leaned on Homa, Kisner and Bhatia, an alternate added to the mix for the season debut. They were sharp for four holes. Over the final 11, the group did not win a single point, and the shot clock penalty was the kind of mistake that suggests a team still figuring out its rhythm in the building.

For Jupiter, the problem is familiar. The club went 1-4 in 2025, with its only win coming in TGL's first shootout against Boston Common. Woods' "no more sequels" line will get replayed if the next one goes the same way.

Standings and what's next

New York improved to 1-1 after opening the season with a 6-4 loss to Atlanta Drive on Horschel's eagle. Atlanta leads at 2-0, Boston Common is 1-0, and New York sits third with two points. Jupiter, Los Angeles and The Bay are each 0-1.

Jupiter has no time to sulk. It is back at 7 p.m. ET next Tuesday, Jan. 20, against Los Angeles Golf Club, which also is looking for its first win. New York gets a long break and returns Feb. 24 against The Bay Golf Club.

The official match page is on tglgolf.com (opens in a new tab).

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

Woods brought the energy and the first Hammer. New York brought the patience, and the patience won by five.

Photo: TGL.