Niemann and Gooch to battle for another trophy

Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch have combined to win eleven LIV Golf individual titles during their first four seasons in the league. They enter Sunday’s final round of LIV Golf Korea ready to battle for another trophy.

Niemann, the Torque GC Captain, and Gooch, in his first season as the OKGC captain, share the 54-hole lead at 9 under at the challenging Asiad Country Club. One stroke back is HyFlyers GC’s Scott Vincent, with Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith and Crushers GC’s Charles Howell III tied for fourth at 7 under.

Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau, winner of last year’s LIV Golf Korea when it was held outside Seoul, suffered two late bogeys to drop into a share of sixth with 4Aces GC Captain Dustin Johnson and RangeGoats GC’s Ben Campbell. Johnson produced the lowest round of the day, a 6-under 64.

On the team leaderboard, the Crushers – who won in Korea last year – are at 16 under, one shot ahead of OKGC, which is playing just its second tournament since rebranding from their previous Smash GC name. Ripper GC is solo third at 12 under.

Niemann is LIV Golf’s all-time individual wins leader with seven, including five last season. He’s yet to win this season, but that might change if his putter remains as hot as it was on the back nine Saturday when he rolled in three long birdie putts, including a big breaker from 34 feet, to shoot a 4-under 66.

“Putting did behave a lot better today than the first two days, so pretty happy about that,“ said the 27-year-old Niemann, the league’s youngest captain. “It did love me a lot. I did love it a lot, too.”

Gooch has four wins, including two at LIV Golf Andalucia, the next tournament on the 2026 schedule set for next week when he will defend his title from last year.

Gooch entered Saturday as the solo leader but started his round with 14 consecutive pars before posting his lone birdie at the par-5 15th for a bogey-free 69.

“You’ve got to stay patient and just wait for your time and hope that it comes, and it unfortunately didn’t come much today,” Gooch said. “But that’s why we stay patient. Maybe tomorrow it’ll come.”

Vincent continues to thrive since joining HyFlyers GC as a reserve filling in for captain Phil Mickelson. The Zimbabwean shot a 3-under 67 and is now in position to chase his first individual title.

“Winning out here is not easy,” said Vincent, who has finished top 10 in each of his first two starts with the HyFlyers GC after playing as a Wild Card player to start the season. “I think just big picture-wise, just putting myself in this position is just great for me, try and get better and develop as a player.”

Leaderboard

Individual
     T1. Joaquin Niemann, Torque GC (-9, 66-69-66)
     T1. Talor Gooch, OKGC (-9, 69-63-69)
      3.  Scott Vincent, HyFlyers GC (-8, 65-70-67)
     T4. Charles Howell III, Crushers GC (-7, 65-70-68)
     T4. Cam Smith, Ripper GC (-7, 67-68-68)
     T6. Ben Campbell, RangeGoats Golf Club (-6, 69-69-66)
     T6. Dustin Johnson, 4Aces GC (-6, 70-70-64)
     T6. Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers GC (-6, 65-68-71)

Team

1. Crushers GC (-16) – Bryson DeChambeau (65-68-71), Travis Smyth (72-66-68), Charles Howell III (65-70-68), Anirban Lahiri (68-73-70)
2. OKGC (-15) – Talor Gooch, Captain (69-63-69), Harold Varner III (68-69-68), Jason Kokrak (68-70-69), Graeme McDowell (68-71-73)
3. Ripper GC (-12) – Cameron Smith (67-68-68), Lucas Herbert (71-66-69), Marc Leishman (69-68-69), Elvis Smylie (71-69-74)
4. 4Aces GC (-10) – Dustin Johnson (70-70-64), Thomas Detry (72-73-66), Anthony Kim (70-70-69), Thomas Pieters (66-69-71)
5. Torque GC (-7) – Joaquin Neimann (66-69-66), Abraham Ancer (72-70-66), Sebastian Munoz (70-73-68), Carlos Ortiz (71-71-71)