Billy Horschel drained the decisive putt to give Atlanta Drive GC their seventh consecutive victory in a 7-4 win over The Bay Golf Club on Tuesday.
In a rematch of last season's semi-final the seven-footer for birdie at No 13 moved the defending champions to a 2-0 record and put Atlanta firmly in control as they look to go back-to-back.
Patrick Cantlay, who sat out the first match of the season for the defending champions due to injury, joined Horschel and Chris Gotterup and they all played well enough to decide the match in only 13 holes to hand The Bay a first loss of the season.
"We ham-and-egged it really well," said Horschel, who pointed to a pair of chip-ins from Patrick Cantlay and alternate Chris Gotterup to keep the match close in Triples.
"Those are two valuable holes when you look at the night and how it all played out. Really solid night."
The Bay tied the match at 3-3 after Shane Lowry handed Horschel a loss on No 10 before Cantlay holed a 40-foot chip for birdie just when it looked like The Bay were going to tie the match on the final hole of triples.
Atlanta Drive trailed 2-1 but regained the lead after winning Nos 6 and 8. Gotterup nailed the shot of the day at the sixth, standing over an awkward chip with both feet in a greenside bunker and the ball sitting on the lip.
"It was a lot of luck involved," Gotterup admitted. "I was standing over it for a second and we had to call timeout because I didn't know what I was going to do. Sometimes you get lucky in this game... you take it when you can."
"We care about this TGL," Horschel said. "We compete (and) we don't want to lose. We want to win."
Lexi Thompson was in the building on a day the league announced the formation of WTGL, featuring LPGA stars competing at SoFi Center beginning in late 2026.
"I think we've already seen the success with TGL and it's been able to highlight a little different side of the guys (and) so I think seeing that for the LPGA Tour is going to be really exciting," Patrick Cantlay said.
The new league will launch at the conclusion of the 2026 LPGA Tour season and run through the wintertime of 2026-27.
LPGA Tour commissioner Craig Kessler had "goosebumps" about the opportunity to showcase some LPGA Tour stars on the TGL stage.
"As (deputy commissioner Liz Moore) and I landed and drove in today, there are a couple of moments in one's career where you pinch yourself because you're so excited about what's to come," Kessler said. "This is one of those moments."
The men's TGL is set to expand, adding the Motor City Golf Club out of Detroit in 2027.
Horschel joined Jamie Weir and Rob Lee on the Your Site Golf podcast for a look back at the biggest stories from the world of golf in 2025, with a historic moment at Augusta the pick of the lot for the American.
"It's hard to look past Rory at Augusta," he said. "When there have been five guys to ever win the career Grand Slam, and a sixth guy does that. He's in rarified air.
"We've always known he was a special talent, I always believed he would finally get a Masters and complete the Grand Slam. That is my moment of the year.
"I played early that Sunday morning and remember watching, like very fan, the highs and lows of his round. I just wish I was there in person to experience it."
The next TGL match sees New York Golf Club faces Jupiter Links on January 14 with coverage live on Wednesday from 12am on Your Site Golf.
Links return to action against Los Angeles GC on January 21 (12am start UK time). Watch every match of the 2026 TGL season exclusively live on Your Site Golf. or .
