Talor Gooch overcomes almighty wobble to claim maiden LIV Golf title!
Talor Gooch claimed his maiden LIV Golf title in Adelaide despite an almighty wobble in his final round.
Talor Gooch held on to capture his maiden LIV Golf title in Adelaide.
Gooch, 31, who won once on the PGA Tour before bolting to the rival-backed league last June, slept on a mammoth 36-hole lead at The Grange.
That lead was a whopping 10-strokes after he carded consecutives rounds of 62 to set up a victory lap on Sunday.
Gooch eventually posted a final round of 1-over 72 for a 19-under total, which in the end was good enough for a three stroke victory.
As a consequence of his victory, Gooch pocketed the standard $4m first place payout from the $25m prize purse.
India's Anirban Lahiri, who complained of loneliness before leaving the PGA Tour, put the pressure on Gooch with a blistering final round in front of a packed crowd.
Lahiri posted 7-under par but in the end he was just too far adrift.
Patrick Reed, fresh off another fine performance at The Masters, came in third on 15-under.
LIV's poster boy Cameron Smith also put in a fine performance on the final day of his homecoming, tying for third at 15-under alongside Cameron Tringale and Pat Perez.
There were fireworks as Brooks Koepka's brother Chase made a hole-in-one at the 'party hole', hitting a trap-draw with a 9-iron to send the crowd bonkers.
Dustin Johnson's 4 Aces won the team element by one stroke. The all-American side played their first winning hand of 2023 by reaching 47-under.
Bubba Watson's RangeGoats, which Gooch is a part of, finished second. The South African Stinger side finished third.
In the immediate aftermath of his victory, Gooch said
Gooch's round threatened to unravel after he made a double bogey in the middle of his round.
He said:
LIV will head to Singapore over 28-30 April for their next event before heading to Gooch's home state of Tulsa, Oklahoma in early May.
“I recomposed myself and said ‘hey, you’re playing great golf, you got a lead, let’s go win a tournament.’” - @TalorGooch #LIVGolf @rangegoatsgc pic.twitter.com/4XuLrULdjL
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) April 23, 2023
Final leaderboard
T. Gooch -19
A. Lahiri -16
P. Reed, C. Smith, C. Tringale, P. Perez -15
D. Burmester, C. Schwartzel -14
D. Johnson -10
Team final results
4 Aces -47
Range Goats -46
Stinger -44
HyFlyers -40
Crushers -38
Smash -34
Torque -32
Ripper -31
Fireballs -30
Cleeks -24
Iron Heads -28
Majesticks -27
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