ADELAIDE, Australia: Talor Gooch upstaged the more-fancied names on the LIV Golf tour by shooting a 10-under 62 Friday to take a four-stroke lead after the first round of the inaugural Australian tournament at The Grange.The 31-year-old American started with a par on his opening hole in the shotgun-start format — the par-3 12th — but then had 10 birdies, including five in a row.Two more players in the unfancied category — Richard Bland and Dean Burmester — shot 66s and were tied for second. Five players were tied for fourth, including New Zealander Danny Lee, who won the second LIV event in Arizona in mid-March.The higher-profile names in the 48-player field were further behind on the leaderboard.Sergio Garcia shot 68 and British Open champion and local favorite Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka had 69s. Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson had 70s and Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson shot 71. Bryson DeChambeau had a 73.Johnson’s team, Aces GC, toppedthe team leaderboard entering the fourth tournament. Charles Howell III, who won the season-opening event in Mexico and shot 69 on Friday, leads the overall individual standings ahead of Koepka, who won the last LIV tournament at Orlando.The individual winner at The Grange will collect $4 million of the total $20 million purse.The 14-event season continues next weekend at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.
Wednesday, December 25, 2024