LIV Golf Singapore set for Gooch, Garcia shootout for title

SINGAPORE: It will be a battle between red-hot form and hard-earned experience in the final round of LIV Golf Singapore as Talor Gooch and Sergio Garcia move to the top of the leaderboard.

American Gooch birdied his last two holes for a six-under par 65, while Spain’s 2017 Masters champion once again showed his love for the tough par-71 Serapong course of Sentosa Golf Club, going bogey-free for the second straight day in his round of seven-under par 64.

The duo were tied on top at 13-under par 129, but will be extremely wary of another in-form star, Brooks Koepka. The four-time major champion, runner-up recently at the Masters and winner of LIV Golf Orlando, was just one behind at 12-under par after a 65.

With lift, clean and place in play following the heavy rains on Friday, scoring was much better as the wind dropped. And the man who made most of the conditions was Zimbabwean Scott Vincent, who wielded a hot putter in a superb round of nine-under par 62. That elevated the Asian Tour member to tied fourth place at 11-under par 131 alongside American Cameron Tringale (66) and Australia’s Cameron Smith (66). All three players were bogey-free. 

The 31-year-old Gooch is now an astonishing 32-under par for his last five rounds (19-under winning total in Adelaide) and agreed that experience was paramount on a golf course like Sentosa. However, he added that leading tournaments was helping him add valuable experience as well. 

“Nothing can replace experience. The more that I can put myself in this position, the more comfortable I’m going to get. The more you play with these guys and the more you feel like you can compete and beat these guys, the more comfortable you’re going to get,” Gooch said.

Garcia has played the