If the first two rounds of the NCAA event did not get your coronary heart price up with sufficient upsets, the best-of-three finals of TGL’s SoFi Cup that tees off Monday evening may present some drama.
In final week’s semifinals, No. 4 seed Jupiter Links GC surprised No. 1 seed Boston Common Golf in a 9-5 rout, knocking reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy out of the playoffs.
No. 2 seed Los Angeles Golf Club rallied from a 4-1 deficit by means of seven holes to take down defending SoFi Cup champion Atlanta Drive Golf Club 6-4 in the first semifinals match.
“I think it just shows the quality that we have as a team, the quality of golfers that we have on the team,” LA Golf Club star Justin Rose stated. “And just the trust that over time the theory of large numbers will kind of play in your favor. I think that you have to think that way, and you have to trust the team and you have to trust the golf.”
Jupiter GC was so dangerous throughout the inaugural TGL season in 2025 — it completed 1-4 and captured solely two factors — that injured star Tiger Woods started calling them the “Bad News Bears.”
“Look what we did last year,” Woods stated final week. “OK, we skulled a bunker shot, almost killed some lady in the stands. Hit the flag. We had a shot-clock violation by me over a 4-footer. We just had some weird stuff.
“That’s Bad News Bears stuff. But now the Bad News Bears can play.”
How to watch the 2026 TGL playoffs, championship on ESPN
Match 1 starting lineups
No. 2 seed Los Angeles Golf Club
Justin Rose
Tommy Fleetwood
Sahith Theegala
No. 4 seed Jupiter Links Golf Club
LA Golf Club (Collin Morikawa, Rose and Theegala) defeated Jupiter Links (Akshay Bhatia, Homa and Kisner) 8-4 in the teams’ regular-season match on Jan. 20.
LA Golf Club took a 4-1 lead in triples, but Jupiter Links rallied to cut its deficit to 5-4 heading into the 14th hole. Jupiter threw a hammer on the tee, doubling the points at stake, and Morikawa sank a 17-foot birdie putt to grab a 7-4 advantage.
That match included the only albatross in TGL history when Rose holed his second shot from 227 yards on No. 10 (Sterling) while playing Homa in singles.
Jupiter Links Golf Club has dominated singles matches this season, winning a league-high 16 points. It has been one of the best putting teams in TGL with a 72.7% on attempts inside 10 feet.
LA Golf Club has performed better in triples with 18 holes won for 20 points. LA has been much longer off the tee, with a 317.9-yard average.
The course
No. 1: Temple (par 4, 473 yards)
No. 2: Caverns (par 5, 569 yards)
No. 3: Set In Stone (par 3, 166 yards)
No. 4: The Jup Life (par 5, TBD yards)
No. 5: Fallen Pine (par 3, 164 yards)
No. 6: Loot on the Line (par 4, 377 yards)
No. 7: On the Rocks (par 3, 108 yards)
No. 8: Stinger (par 4, 416 yards)
No. 9: Showtime (par 5, TBD yards)
No. 10: Sterling (par 5, 535 yards)
No. 11: Alpine (par 4, 535 yards)
No. 12: Cenote (par 3, 264 yards)
No. 13: Cut the Sails (par 4, 337 yards)
No. 14: Cliffhanger (par 3, 151 yards)
No. 15: Stone & Steeple (par 5, 537 yards)
Course notes
No. 7 (On the Rocks): The par 3, which will be played during the triples portion of the first finals match, is probably Kim’s favorite. He recorded the second-ever ace in TGL history in a regular-season win over The Bay Golf Club on March 3, hitting his tee shot past the flag and spinning it back into the cup.
In last week’s victory against Boston Common, Kim hit his tee shot to two feet, three inches to set up a birdie to extend Jupiter Links’ lead to 7-3.
Homa and Rose will hit tee shots on No. 7 on Monday night.
No. 8 (Stinger): Named after Jupiter Links “coach” Tiger Woods’ famous screaming low drive, golfers will have to hit their drives lower than 50 feet to clear a natural rock formation that extends into the driving area.
Through the SoFi Cup semifinals, the Stinger hole had the most drives hit into penalty areas (six), including one by Theegala.
Kim and Fleetwood will hit tee shots on No. 8 on Monday night. According to TGL, Fleetwood had two of the three drives with the lowest apex on Stinger this season, including a 318.3-yard drive that was just 9.1 feet off the ground.
“It’s the best shot for me to hit low and carry it far sufficient in a method,” Fleetwood said last week. “I get pleasure from working towards that shot. I hit an analogous shot on the golf course loads, in phrases of like a bullet driver, however clearly not that minus-one diploma launch angle.”
No. 12 (Cenote): The longest par 3 on the course, Cenote contains a backstop, which golfers can select to use to convey their tee pictures again nearer to the gap.
Jupiter Golf Links has dominated its competitors on No. 12 with a 5-0-1 report. LA Golf Club hasn’t been practically nearly as good with a 1-4-1 mark.
Kisner and Theegala will hit tee pictures on No. 12 on Monday evening. Kisner defeated Theegala in singles in the final matchup between the groups after Theegala’s tee shot landed in a penalty space.
No. 14 (Cliffhanger): The par 3 is one in every of three holes in which L.A. Golf Club has dominated this season. L.A. went 2-0-0 on No. 6 (Loot on the Line), 3-0-0 on No. 13 (Cut the Sails) and 3-0-1 on No. 14.
L.A. Golf Club hit the inexperienced in every of the 9 occasions it performed these holes this season.
Justin Rose made the longest putt (15 toes, 10 inches) on No. 13 this season.
SoFi Cup finals schedule
Match 1: Monday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2 and ESPN+)
Match 2: Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN and ESPN+)
Match 3: Tuesday 9 p.m. ET* (ESPN and ESPN+)
*If mandatory
