Robert TheodorsonBefore they head to The American Express at PGA West, Akshay Bhatia, Max Homa, Justin Rose, and Sahith Theegala faceoff in TGL action Tuesday night!
Looking for their respective teams’ first win of the season, TGL’s newest addition in Akshay Bhatia and reigning FedEx St. Jude Championship winner Justin Rose each seek to use impressive performances under the SoFi Center lights as a segway to a successful 2026 PGA Tour season.
While Los Angeles lost a close match to Boston Common Golf on January 2nd, Jupiter Links is looking for redemption after getting shelled by the New York Golf Club earlier last week. It’s a matchup of clubs that include a legitimate championship contender, and one that hopes to turn not only a season, but a club’s entire fortunes around in one night.
Team Lineups and Featured Holes
Jupiter Links
- Akshay Bhatia
- Max Homa
- Kevin Kisner
Los Angeles
- Justin Rose
- Colin Morikawa
- Sahith Theegala
Akshay Bhatia will once again fill in for the injured Tiger Woods and Jupiter Links 5th member Tom Kim will wait at least one more match before making his Season 2 debut. Bhatia currently boasts a 100% FIR and GIR rate, all eyes will be on the newcomer to see if he can keep the perfect streak alive.
Los Angeles returns with the same lineup that lost to Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common team a few weeks ago. Justin Rose will headline his LA squad while fans await Tommy Fleetwood’s triumphant return to virtual golf.
New Unique Holes
- The Last Hole; Par 3; 241 Yards; Hole 3
The Last Hole is one of the craziest designs we’ve seen with the backdrop being a post-apocalyptic version of San Francisco. At 241 yards long, only those brave enough and skilled enough to put enough loft on the ball to go over The Golden Gate Bridge will be able to land on the green in one. Like Stinger, this course has the potential to add plenty of penalty points to golfers who haven’t practiced and mastered this long Par 3.
Projected Top Performers
Jupiter
Bhatia instantly became Jupiter’s top golfer from the moment he stepped into the SoFi Center and matched his teammates’ production in total points won: T13, 3 Points.
Jupiter’s first match against New York started promising but got ugly quickly as the dominant trio of Fowler, Young, and Fitzpatrick made quick work of the shorthanded Jupiter squad, winning the game in an 8 – 3 blowout.
Tiger Woods is expected to return to play the role of on-the-course coach once again.
Los Angeles
Colin Morikawa’s missed cut at The Sony Open in Hawaii is cause for concern about his short and long-term abilities, but the fact remains that he was LA’s best player against Boston with a team-leading 5 Points.
Both Justin Rose and Sahith Theegala will be traveling to The American Express tournament immediately after this matchup, so it will be interesting to see these two use the TGL experience as a quasi-practice round for their upcoming event.
After bouncing back from an opening round of 73 at The Sony Open, Theegala turned his fortunes around with three straight rounds in the 60’s to finish T31.
Final Predictions
Jupiter’s inability to score will likely be an issue throughout the season and despite their loss against Boston, Los Angeles remains one of the better TGL teams.
The absence of Tommy Fleetwood will likely not be felt as badly as it was in their season opener as Jupiter figures to be their easiest matchup of the season.
We’re not anticipating a completely one-sided match like the JUP – NY one, but Los Angeles should take this one rather easily.
