Theegala finds a fairway and leads LA to late victory over Jupiter for 1-0 lead in TGL final
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Sahith Theegala picked the right time to find a fairway, setting up a two-putt birdie on the final hole Monday night to flip the match and give Los Angeles a 6-5 victory over Jupiter Links and a 1-0 lead in the TGL finals. Match 2 is Tuesday night at the SoFi Center, followed immediately by Match 3, if necessary.
LA was without Collin Morikawa, who suffered a back injury at The Players Championship. Tiger Woods heads the Jupiter team but has sat out all year as he recovers from back surgery last fall. Jupiter had been using Akshay Bhatia as an alternate, but Bhatia is playing the Hero Indian Open this week in New Delhi on the European tour.
That put Kevin Kisner — who has been in the broadcast booth for NBC during the Florida swing on the PGA Tour — in the lineup for Jupiter for only the second time since Feb. 2. Theegala twice hit tee shots out of play, and hit another drive into a bunker that kept LA from reaching the green in two on a par 5.
He also missed a 3-foot putt that cost his team a point. But he wound up hitting a winner. Jupiter led 5-4 going to the par-5 closing hole and LA threw the hammer, meaning the hole was worth two points.
Theegala ripped his drive into the fairway to set up a second shot to 35 feet. Kisner found the rough off the tee, the rough on his second shot and a wedge came up short of the green. His birdie chip from 20 feet to tie the hole — and win the match — narrowly missed.