OKGC captain Talor Gooch on his way into the day two lead at LIV Golf Korea in Busan on Friday. Image courtesy LIV Golf.
From a Correspondent
Busan, South Korea: Talor Gooch calls Asiad Country Club a shot-maker’s course. The OKGC captain showed on Friday why it’s a terrific fit for his game.
Gooch shot a 7 under 63 in the second round of LIV Golf Korea to grab the 36-hole lead at 8 under, one shot ahead of Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau.
Five players were tied for third at 5 under – Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith, Torque GC captain Joaquin Niemann, HyFlyers GC’s Scott Vincent, 4Aces GC’s Thomas Pieters and Charles Howell III of the Crushers.
Gooch’s OKGC team, playing just their second tournament since a name change and rebrand, have a one-stroke lead at 14 under over the Crushers, with Ripper in third.
Gooch, the 2023 LIV Golf individual champion, will be looking for his fifth title this weekend; two of which have come at Valderrama, the host course at next week’s LIV Golf Andalucia and another shot-maker’s layout.
It appears he’s finding his form at just the right time.
“I wish I could say it’s as easy as picking a time to play great because if I could do that, I would just do it all the time,” he said.
Gooch opened the season with four top-20 finishes but finished T43 and T39 in his last two starts.
Late surge
On Friday, he produced eight birdies, starting with a chip-in on his second hole, the par-4 ninth. He birdied six of his last eight holes to surge to the lead.
“The game still doesn’t feel great, but we’re working hard, and we’re working in the right direction,” said Gooch, who entered the week ranked 29th in points but is projected to move to fifth with a win.
“… Hopefully we can just kind of keep it going and get this train rolling.”
DeChambeau, the 18-hole co-leader, shot a 2 under 68 that included 11 pars in his final 12 holes. He hit just 8 of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens in regulation.
“My putting saved me today,” he said. “I felt like I was hitting it really well yesterday, driving it well, and today just kind of went sideways.”
Home favourites Korean Golf Club were in solo seventh, led by newcomer Doyeob Mun, who shot his second consecutive 68 to join Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia in a tie for eighth. That leaves him just four shots off the pace on a course in which he’s very familiar with on the KPGA Tour.
Mun is making the most of his opportunity after a spot opened up due to the team’s roster shakeup.
“I’ve actually never imagined that I would win, but if I do, this week would definitely be magical,” said Mun, the current KPGA Tour points leader.
“So being able to actually play LIV Golf and getting a seat, that was super lucky, but also playing with all these giants, neck to neck, shoulder to shoulder, it will have been a memorable week. Let’s see how I play tomorrow.”
New fit
Gooch, in his first year as a LIV Golf captain, was instrumental in having his team rebranded to celebrate his Oklahoma roots.
“I’ve gotten 100 texts from people asking where to buy gear, where they can get a hat or a polo or whatever,” Gooch said.
“So, it’s been great. At the couple of courses I play back home, everyone points out what a cool logo it is, how cool the gear looks, how exciting it is, when are we going to get a tournament in Oklahoma, all those things.
“It’s been cool. And I got to play golf with a couple of the (Oklahoma City) Thunder players last week, and they were asking for some gear, too.
“It’s exciting back home, and we’re excited to just keep building.” (courtesy LIV Golf)
Leaderboards
Individual Top 10
1. (-8) – Talor Gooch, OKGC (69-63)
2. (-7) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (65-68)
T3 (-5) – Cameron Smith, Ripper (67-68); Joaquin Niemann, Torque (66-69); Thomas Pieters, 4Aces (66-69); Scott Vincent, HyFlyers (65-70); Charles Howell III, Crushers (65-70)
T8 (-4) – Doyeob Mun, Korean (68-68); Sergio Garcia, Fireballs (67-69)
T10 (-3) – Marc Leishman, Ripper (69-68); Lucas Herbert, Ripper (71-66); Harold Varner III, OKGC (71-66)
Team Top 3
1. (-14) – OKGC (Gooch 69-63, Kokrak 68-70, McDowell 68-71, Varner III 68-69)
2. (-13) – Crushers GC (DeChambeau 65-68, Howell III 65-70, Lahiri 68-73, Smyth 72-66)
3. (-11) – Ripper GC (Smith 67-68, Leishman 69-68, Herbert 71-66; Smylie 71-69)
Day 2 stats
Driving Distance: Matthew Wolff, 315.9-yard avg.
Longest Drive: Charles Howell III, 334.8 yards (11th hole). Official measured drives taken only on holes 11 and 12.
Driving Accuracy: Talor Gooch, Ben Campbell, Jason Kokrak, Younghan Song, Elvis Smylie, Abraham Ancer, 85.71% (12 of 14)
Greens in Regulation: Joaquin Niemann, 83.33% (15 of 18)
Scrambling: Richard Bland (8 of 8), Elvis Smylie (4 of 4), 100%
Fewest Putts: Bryson DeChambeau, Yosuke Asaji, 22
Bogey-free rounds: None
Also read: DeChambeau, Howell share early LIV Korea lead with Vincent
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