Three share LIV Miami lead, Saffa one back

Stimpmeter · April 6, 2024, 4:00am

A year ago last April, Talor Gooch started his hot streak that led to the season-long LIV Golf Individual Championship.

It looks like he may be heating up again, as the Smash GC star shot a five-under 67 at LIV Golf Miami to share the first-round lead with Sergio Garcia and Peter Uihlein.

Meanwhile, Gooch’s former team, RangeGoats GC, opened up a five-stroke lead over Legion XIII thanks to Uihlein’s 67 and a couple of 66s from captain Bubba Watson and Matthew Wolff.

Gooch entered this week ranked sixth in points through the first four events, but he had yet to match the kind of performance he produced on a consistent basis in 2023 when he won three times, including his first LIV Golf victory in Adelaide last April.

He said Friday’s round on the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral was the first time his ball-striking was up to his standards.

“This felt a little reminiscent of some of those deep rounds I had last year around this time of year,” said Gooch, who was traded from the RangeGoats to Brooks Koepka’s Smash team during the off-season. “Hopefully we can catch some of that fire we had this time last year and get it going.”

Garcia, the Fireballs GC captain, crafted the only bogey-free round of the day, thanks in large part to hitting 16 of 18 greens in regulation, the best performance by any player in the field Friday. He also had a terrific up-and-down on the par-three 13th to keep his scorecard clean.

“I wasn’t hitting it super-close most of the time, but I was hitting a lot of greens,” said Garcia, who has been part of two of the seven playoffs in LIV Golf history but is still seeking his first LIV individual win. “My lag putting was good. I didn’t put myself under a lot of stress. That obviously helped.”

Uihlein has been one of LIV Golf’s most consistent performers but is also seeking his first individual win.

One of LIV Golf’s longest hitters, Uihlein has also emerged as one of its leading putters. He led the field Friday in that category, needing just 23 putts.

“Played really well, putted nice and just kind of felt like I was plotting my way around there, which was good,” Uihlein said.

His teammates Wolff and Watson are the closest pursuers, along with South African Dean Burmester (Stinger GC) and Iron Heads GC’s Scott Vincent. Burmester’s round of 68 included eight birdies and four bogies.

Six more players are tied for eighth, including Koepka and Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm.

Photo: Sam Greenwood/LIV Golf

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