Justin Rose used a 4-iron from 225 yards out on the par-5, 553-yard hole for his second shot and found the cup for the first albatross in TGL history.
PALM BEACH GARDENS — Justin Rose felt he had just made a quality swing with his 4-iron from 225 yards out in the fairway on the par-5, 553-yard Sterling hole in the TGL match at the SoFi Center on Jan. 20.
He found out a few seconds later just how high quality it was.
Rose picked up his 5-iron, that was laying next to the hitting area, and walked toward his Los Angeles Golf Club teammates Collin Morakawa and Sahith Theegala.
As he looked up at the screen, Rose’s eyes got big. He dropped both clubs and pumped his arms.
The author of 26 PGA Tour victories has just treated the SoFi crowd to one of golf’s rarest feats – an albatross – as his ball rolled into the hole on the simulated screen, eliciting wild cheers throughout the building for a 3-under-par on the hole.
“I picked up my 5-iron, I knew I executed because it took off and stayed straight,” said Rose after the swing. “I knew, ‘That’s gonna be good.’ I was walking to get my putter and ended up not needing it. That’s the surprise, right?
“You get that moment where, ‘My God, it’s going in!’ That surprise was amazing. It was fun to celebrate with the boys. It was a cool moment for sure.”
Collin Morakawa's 17-foot putt clinches win for LA
Rose’s incredible shot was the highlight of the match, which LA won 8-4 over Jupiter Links Golf Club. However, his team needed Collin Morakawa’s 17-foot putt on No. 14, the penultimate hole, to hold off Jupiter, which had closed the gap to 5-4. LA moved to 1-1-0, while Jupiter is 0-2-0.
After Morakawa made his putt, LA threw down the hammer, making the hole worth two points, which pushed its lead to 7-4 with one remaining hole.
“We love stress. We played great, we played really smart,” Morakawa said. “A lot of timeouts have been on greens and this was one of those where it benefited us a lot, it benefited myself. We were all on the same page.
“To make a putt like that was really rewarding, especially at that time. The entire momentum was on their side with the match play and we just flipped that and put a stop to it and it happened to be on second-to-last hole.”
Rose appreciated his teammate picking him up after what he felt was a bad chip on No. 13.
“It was huge,” Rose said, “They threw a nice hammer on that drivable par-4 and Max made birdie (13) and I skulled that chip. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself after the highs and the lows. Then, Collin’s putt was the dagger blow.
“The man executed like a warrior there and put it to bed. We were all solid. We were all in control, but when you let a team back in, things can shift and Collin stepped up in that critical point and making that putt was huge.”
Tiger Woods has made two albatross shots
Rose said it was the first albatross of his career. TGL co-founder and Jupiter Links member Tiger Woods, on the course in a non-playing capacity while still recovering from back surgery, enjoyed the shot.
“I’ve only made two (of those),” Woods said. “These moments for us, for fans to see something like this is pretty incredible.”
Rose knocked his drive on No. 10 333 yards to set up the albatross. He took the 4- and 5-irons to the hitting area, and decided on the 4.
“There was a little right-to-left slope right of the pin,” Rose said. “I felt like if I hit a little bit of a control shot or fade shot and take a little distance off of the shot that would serve me well. That’s why I leaned toward hitting a 4-iron over a 5-iron.
“It was about making a smooth swing and making that contact to get enough spin on the ball. If I get a low spin, it’s going to come out too hot. Just making the right contact to get the ball climbing up nicely and get that nice soft flight. Just making a good decision in the early part of the routine.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: TGL: Los Angeles Golf Club defeats Jupiter Links for first win of 2026
Category: General Sports
