After winning last week’s LIV Golf event in Australia in a canter, Talor Gooch took a different route to claim victory in this week’s tournament Singapore, with the American having to come through a play-off with Sergio Garcia before becoming the first player to win consecutive LIV Golf events.
Gooch and Garcia were tied at 16 under with four holes to play when play resumed after a one-hour weather delay on Sunday. Garcia dropped a stroke at the 15th hole, missing a short par putt, but bounced back with a birdie on the next hole. Both players birdied the par-5 18th to finish at 17 under and set up the playoff.
Gooch took an aggressive line on the 18th, his tee shot finishing just a few yards short of the water. But it set up a second shot that found the green. Meanwhile, Garcia’s second shot landed in a greenside bunker. A difficult third shot came up short and finished in the rough just above the bunker. After Gooch two-putted for birdie, Garcia could not hole his birdie chip.
“It’s one of those days that I’ll remember,” said Gooch. “I grew up watching Sergio. He’s one of the greatest golfers of this generation. To go and battle with him and come out on top is something I’ll never forget.”
Unlike last week at LIV Golf Adelaide, Gooch was able to celebrate two trophies at Sentosa Golf Club, as his RangeGoats GC also won the team title for the first time, combining with Bubba Watson, Harold Varner III and new signing Thomas Pieters shooting a cumulative 12 under on Sunday to finish at 37 under for the week, three strokes ahead of Garcia’s Fireballs GC.
“We’ve been talking about being up there on the podium,” Gooch said. “I’ve been telling them how much I’m going to spray them in the face with Champagne for a long time now. We knew it was coming and it was only a matter of time.”
