After completing victory in the LIV Golf Andalucía tournament at Valderrama, Talor Gooch recalled his thoughts as he stood over a four-metre birdie putt on Royal Valderrama Club’s demanding finishing hole.
His confidence level was extremely high, he said, and in addition to making a positive stroke he imagined the celebration afterward when the putt dropped. “Just felt like I was going to make it. Before I even hit the putt, I was already visualising the fist pump that was coming with it. I’m glad it went in.”
Gooch’s dramatic birdie at Valderrama gave him a one-stroke victory over Bryson DeChambeau and meant the RangeGoats GC team member became the first three-time individual winner in LIV Golf’s fledgling history. Gooch shot a final-round 4-under 67 to finish at 12-under, with Crushers GC captain DeChambeau at 11-under after his closing 2-under 69, and Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka third at 9-under.
All three of Gooch’s victories in 2023 have been outside his native United States, after he previously won back-to-back events in Adelaide and Singapore to become the first player to win consecutive LIV Golf events.
“Last year I didn't get a win, so this year I was just so focused on getting an individual win,” said Gooch, who now leads the individual champion race by 27 points over Koepka. “You don't think much past the first one until you get the first one. I definitely didn't have three in mind for the season, but it's cool that we're here, and it's especially cool to have the third one here at Valderrama.”
Gooch wasn’t the only three-time winner on Sunday. The Spanish-speaking Torque GC, captained by Joaquin Niemann, also won its third team title of the season with a final-round best 7-under counting score to finish at 16-under, five strokes ahead of the RangeGoats, with Crushers GC finishing third. Niemann and Sebastián Muñoz posted 3-under 69s while David Puig contributed a 2-under 69. Those three played the last three holes of their rounds in a cumulative 4-under.
It was the second consecutive win for Torque, who won last month in DC. Torque is now just seven points behind season-long leader 4Aces GC, who finished fourth at Valderrama.
The win was especially sweet for 21-year-old Puig, the youngest player on the LIV Golf League roster and one of three Spanish-born players in the field together with Fireballs GC’s Sergio Garcia and Eugenio Chacarra.
“It's amazing,” said Puig. “Playing at home is always good, and it's even more special when you get a win and when you get a win with this group of guys. It was a great week.”
Said Niemann, “Having David also the main character of this tournament is really special for us. I think it makes it a lot easier when we do everything together like we are a team. You can see in the results, we're playing great golf, and just looking forward to the rest of the season, trying to keep doing the same and having a good time, as well.”
