By Rahul Banerji
Talor Gooch of the US blitzed his way to a 10-under 62 on day one of LIV Golf Adelaide to seize a massive six-shot lead on the lead on Friday.
The 31-year-old from Oklahoma’s Midwest City returned a bogey-free card, one of only four at the Grange Golf Club outside South Australia’s capital as the opposition wilted in the face of his sustained birdie barrage.
A new Rangegoats GC signup, Gooch later said, “I just hit everything real close, and most of my birdie conversions were between eight and 10 feet. It was a blast out there.”
His 10-under was the best-ever recorded in an LIV event so far. “It’s the days that you work hard for,” added the American, who missed just one fairway and one green on the day.
South Africa’s Dean Burmester and the revitalised Richard Bland of England shared second place on six-under 66s with a five-way tie for fourth place behind them on 67.
India’s Anirban Lahiri was in the running for a top-10 placing till a final-hole bogey dropped him into a tie for 17th place on three-under 69 alongside Crushers team-mate Charles Howell III.
In the team event, Cleeks GC (Richard Bland, Graeme McDowell and Bernd Wiesberger counting), who have not figured on the podium even once so far since 2022, led by two shots.
The all-South African Stingers (Burmester, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel) were two shots behind and the Iron Heads (Danny Lee, Kevin Na and Scott Vincent) were three back,
Format tweaked
In a changed format, the captains of all 12 teams led off in the first four groups at the shotgun start. Behind them each flight was made up of a single team as against the mixed format of the past.
Lahiri of the Bryson Dechambeau-led Crushers GC, opened on the 17th hole and made steady progress only to stumble at the very last and fall back into a seven-way tie for 17th place.
Till late into the day, Lahiri received little support from his team, Only towards the end did Mayakoba winner Howell come into the frame as did Paul Casey with a one-under 71.
Team captain Bryson DeChambeau however continued his poor run of form that saw him down in shared 40th place on one-over 73.
Cleeks grabbed the lead on 16 under driven by Bland’s 66 and 65s from McDowell and Austrian team-mate Wiesberger.
“Obviously fun to kind of all play together for the first time in the first round,” McDowell said later. “I feel like we kind of pushed each other along and had a good time.”
Team scores, Day 1
1. Cleeks GC (-16): Richard Bland 66, Graeme McDowell 67, Bernd Wiesberger 67
2. Stinger GC (-14): Dean Burmester 66, Louis Oosthuizen 68, Charl Schwartzel 68
T3. Iron Heads GC (-13): Danny Lee 67, Kevin Na 68, Scott Vincent 68
T3. Rangegoats GC (-13): Talor Gooch 62, Bubba Watson 70, Harold Varner III 71
5. HyFlyers GC (-11): Brendan Steele 67, Cameron Tringale 69, James Piot 69
6. 4Aces GC (-10): Pat Perez 67, Peter Uihlein 68, Patrick Reed 71
7. Smash GC (-9): Jason Kokrak 68, Brooks Koepka 69, Chase Koepka 70
8. Crushers GC (-8): Charles Howell III 69, Anirban Lahiri 69, Paul Casey 71
9. Fireballs (-6): Sergio Garcia 68, Abraham Ancer 69, Carlos Ortiz 73
10. Majesticks GC (-5): Henrik Stenson 68, Lee Westwood 71, Ian Poulter 72
T11. Torque GC (-4): Joaquin Niemann 70, David Puig 70, Mito Pereira 72
T11. Ripper GC (-4): Cameron Smith 69, Marc Leishman 71, Matt Jones 72
Also read: Innovations continue as LIV Golf train rolls into Adelaide
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