Jupiter Golf Club defeated The Bay 9-6 on March 3 to grab the fourth playoff spot in the six-team TGL, thanks to Kevin Kisner's 13-foot birdie putt.
PALM BEACH GARDENS — When Kevin Kisner texted Jupiter Links Golf Club teammate Max Homa Tuesday morning, he was not overly confident about what might happen in the final match of the TGL regular season.
Kisner knew he could be facing The Bay Golf Club’s Wyndham Clark, a much longer hitter, on the part-5, 571-yard The Spear with a playoff berth on the line.
“I said, ‘If it comes down to 15, we’re probably screwed. Wyndham can get there in two and I can’t,’ ” Kisner said.
Yet when Homa birdied No. 13 and Tom Kim made a hole-in-one on No. 14, sending the SoFi Center into a frenzy, it all fell on Kisner. And he delivered in a big way.
Kisner indeed took three shots to reach the green, but dropped a 13-foot putt in for birdie as Jupiter defeated The Bay, 9-6 on March 3 to grab the fourth playoff spot in the six-team league.
Jupiter moves on to face Boston Common Golf in the semifinals on Tuesday, March 17. Los Angeles Golf Club and defending champion Atlanta Drive Golf Club play in the other semifinal.
“Tom makes a hole-in-one and Max says, ‘Well, here you go, You asked for it at 7:15,’ ” Kisner said. “You always dream of making a putt to win a match. It was pretty cool after the way Max and Tom played those two before me to finish it off. It wouldn’t have been as cool if I didn’t finish it off.”
Jupiter fought from behind the entire match and did not lead until Kim aced the 138-yard On the Rocks on the penultimate hole. His shot landed past the flag, then rolled backward and dropped into the cup.
The Jupiter team, along with league co-founder and team owner Tiger Woods, jumped up and down. Woods and Kim hugged. Homa bodychecked Kim, who stumbled, then whipped off his cap and spiked it in celebration.
Jupiter led 7-6 after Kim’s hole-in-one.
“I’ve never been tackled before,” Kim said. “It’s a shot I’ve hit well before. No place better to do it (hole-in-one) than there. It’s pretty fun. Golf is such an individual sport and you’ll probably never see Tiger celebrate with another person like that after a hole-in-one.
“It was fun. My hole doesn’t happen if Max doesn’t birdie his hole. This is such a team effort. There was a lot of pressure on Kis to finish the match.”
In TGL, the three-man teams can throw a hammer, making the hole worth two points instead of one if the opponent accepts the hammer. During the break before the final three holes, which were one-on-one play, Jupiter, trailing 6-3, decided to use its final two hammers on 13 and 14.
The Bay threw its hammer on No. 15, giving Jupiter hammer wins on the three final holes. The comeback started with Homa birdying No. 13 against Ludvig Åberg to make it 6-5.
“It was nice to get those two and get us back in it,” Homa said. “Being down one is not too dangerous. It was great. You always want to make a clutch putt in front of the GOAT, so … it felt good.
“I’m very proud to be around guys who don’t give up. That’s all that I would ever teach my son, just keep plugging along. I learned it from this guy (Woods). If you hang around and keep hitting good golf shots, you never know. They did an amazing job of that, so it’s cool.”
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Woods, who has not played this TGL season while recovering from back surgery, was thrilled at what Tuesday’s victory did for the second-year league.
“This is what we set out to do with TGL,” Woods said. “We tried to grow the game and do it differently. To be able to do this here and to have this showcase and this group of guys and do what we did at the end, have a hole-in-one. Everything that happened at the end is what it’s all about.
“We hung around and hung around and then the worm turned and it flipped. It was the best indoor experience ever.”
On the other side, it was a tough loss for The Bay Golf Club, which misses the playoffs. Clark was near the green in two shots on No. 15, but his chip shot rolled well past the hole, leaving Kisner his chance to win the hole.
“It (stinks),” Clark said. “I have a long flight home to Arizona and maybe by the time I get there I’ll be over it, but I feel like we should’ve won the match.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tiger Woods celebrates TGL playoff berth 'Best indoor experience ever'
Category: General Sports
