Gooch back on familiar territory and share LIV Riyadh’s 36-hole lead

Smash GC captain Talor Gooch tees off during the second round of LIV Golf Riyadh at Riyadh Golf Club on Thursday. Image courtesy of LIV Golf.

From a correspondent

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The 2026 LIV Golf season offers Smash GC and their new captain Talor Gooch the opportunity to write a new chapter.

After two rounds of Roshn Group LIV Golf Riyadh on Thursday, Smash is off to not only a fresh start, but a red-hot start.

Gooch, in his first tournament as Smash captain, is tied for the individual lead at 10 under after shooting his second consecutive 5-under 67.

His team, meanwhile, has a three-shot lead, thanks in large part to Jason Kokrak’s bogey-free 8-under 64, the lowest score in the field through two rounds under the lights at Riyadh Golf Club.

“We wanted to get off to a good start this year, so we did well for two rounds,” said Gooch, an original LIV Golf member who played under Brooks Koepka the previous two seasons.

“But we’re only half way there, so there’s still a lot of golf to be played.”

Set combination

Gooch, Kokrak and Graeme McDowell were together for the past two seasons. The team also signed his good friend Harold Varner III in the offseason.

Varner opened Wednesday with a 68 for the team’s second-best score that day, and McDowell’s 66 on Thursday was also the team’s second-best score behind Kokrak.

In total, they shot a combined 20 under Thursday, putting them three shots clear of Torque GC.

Asked about the atmosphere of the team, Kokrak said: “I think it’s great. I think all four of us get along well. Talor has been a great captain so far. Leads by example.”

“Obviously having HV3 in the team is a whole atmosphere in itself, but a great guy. G-Mac is one of my best friends. I think the four of us will have a lot of fun this year.”

Three-way tie

Tied for Gooch on the individual rankings are Thomas Detry of 4Aces GC and Peter Uihlein of RangeGoats GC with 3-under 69s after sharing the lead in the first round.

Kokrak shares fourth place at 9 under, along with Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm, Torque GC’s Sebastián Muñoz and new Ripper GC player Elvis Smylie.

The Fireballs duo of captain Sergio Garcia and David Puig are in eighth place at 8 under.

Detry is making his first LIV Golf start and will get a taste of the simultaneous individual and team competitions this week.

The 4Aces haven’t won since 2023 and will play with reserve Miguel Tabuena this week, but Detry leads the charge to end the drought.

Captain Dustin Johnson kicked into gear on Thursday with a 5-under 67, while Detry’s compatriot Thomas Pieters added a 68.

Early statement

“I like to make statements, especially for the first week here,” Detry said.

“There’s a lot of different things… I’ve played as a professional for the last ten years, playing individually, so you never really think about a team.

“I was kind of minding my business, and all of a sudden I saw the leaderboard with the 4Aces pop up, and that kind of reminded me that I was playing for the team too, which is great.”

Uihlein is one of eight players to have started all 51 LIV golf tournaments.

RangeGoats GC’s Peter Uihlein plays from a bunker during the second round at Riyadh Golf Club on Thursday, his second day in a share of the lead in the event. Image courtesy of LIV Golf

He finished third in the season-long individual championship in the inaugural 2022 season and has had multiple chances to claim a tournament title but failed to cash in.

He hopes this week will be different.

However, it appears he is only chasing that one trophy as his RangeGoats sit 11th on the team leaderboard, 22 strokes off the lead.

“Winning individually – that’s what the goal is to win, and now that we’re gaining points in the world rankings, you can jump up in the OWGR and try to get into the majors,” Uihlein said.

Test field

“That’s definitely a goal. It would be great, right? There are some incredible players here, and to say you definitely won and beat them would be pretty special.”

One of those players is Gooch, who won three times in 2023 when he won the season-long individual championship; Last season he added a fourth tournament title.

In total, he has won 13 LIV Golf trophies, making Rahm the most wins among players in LIV Golf history.

He follows the Rule of 67 – everything will take care of itself by shooting 67 or better – and has already achieved two of those scores this week.

But he doesn’t know if two more 67s will allow him to lift trophy No. 14 (and possibly 15 if Smash wins both trophies).

“I don’t know what the winning score is going to be,” Gooch said. “This is the first time we are playing 72 (holes), so who knows what it will look like.” (courtesy of LIV Golf)

Leaderboard: Individual Top 10

T1 (-10) – Talor Gooch, Smash (67-67), Peter Uihlein, RangeGoats (65-69), Thomas Detry, 4Aces (65-69)

T4 (-9) – Jon Rahm, Legion

T8 (-8) – Sergio Garcia, Fireballs (68-68), David Puig, Fireballs (69-67)

T10 (-7) – Byeong Hun An, Korean (67-70), Yosuke Asaji, wildcard (68-69), Abraham Ancer, Torque (68-69)

Teamtop3

1. (-30) – Smash GC (Kokrak 64, McDowell 66, Gooch 67, Varner III 71; Rd. 2 score: -20)

2. (-27) – Torque GC (Muñoz 68, Ancer 69, Niemann 69, Ortiz 70; Rd. 2 score: -12)

3. (-23) – 4Aces ranking (Johnson 67, Pieters 68, Detry 69, Tabuena 71; Rd. 2 score: -13)

Also read: LIV debutant Detry and veteran Uihlein share the first day lead in Riyadh

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