SAN ROQUE, Spain – Two years after posting his last LIV Golf win at Andalucía, Talor Gooch is displaying the same kind of form that won him the league’s Individual Championship in 2023.

The Smash GC star shot a second-round 5-under 66 on Saturday to grab a commanding four-shot lead after 36 holes at the historic Real Club Valderrama. It’s the first time he’s led after 36 holes since his breakthrough season two years ago, when he won three times.

Dustin Johnson, captain of the 4Aces team that Gooch played for during the inaugural 2022 season, is his closest pursuer at 3 under. Stinger GC’s Branden Grace, battling relegation, is another stroke back in solo third. Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm, 4Aces GC’s Patrick Reed — winner two weeks ago in Dallas — and Iron Heads GC’s Jinichiro Kozuma are tied for fourth at 1 under.

The 4Aces are seeking their first win since 2023, like Gooch, and top the team leaderboard at 2 over, one stroke ahead of Smash and five ahead of Legion XIII. Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC, seeking their fourth consecutive victory, are in sixth place, nine strokes off the pace.

Saturday’s play included the completion of the first round, which had been suspended on Friday due to severe winds and the threat of dangerous conditions. After finishing his final five holes, Gooch emerged with a share of the 18-hole lead with Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith and Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann at 2 under, and then was the only one who kept his position on a challenging but less blustery afternoon.

While Gooch has good vibes at Valderrama, he also understands the difficulties of protecting a lead on this challenging course. A year ago, Anirban Lahiri entered the final round with the same four-shot lead but ultimately lost in a playoff to Fireballs GC Captain and local favorite Sergio Garcia, who rallied from seven strokes down.

Amazingly, Garcia is in the same exact position this year — even par through 36 holes and seven strokes back.

“In general, on LIV, there’s really no lead that’s safe, especially at a golf course like this,” Gooch said. “Things can happen quickly, and you’re one shot away from a big number. There’s definitely no sense of [relaxation] or calmness.

“I know DJ (Dustin Johnson) is right behind me. … There’s just too many good players out here to feel like I’m comfortable just showing up and winning this tomorrow. I’ve got to play a really good round of golf to get this thing done.”

Johnson won the Individual Championship in 2022, and Gooch followed a year later. Both have worked hard to regain their form and improve on their results in 2025.

Johnson shot a bogey-free 7-under 64, the lowest round through the first two days and his second-lowest round, relative to par, this season.

“My game has been really good [in] the last month and a half or so,” said Johnson, who is seeking to win a LIV Golf tournament for the fourth consecutive year. “Just haven’t really seen the results that I feel like I should be shooting.

“Today, it was nice to actually put together a really solid round.”

After a difficult start to the season, Gooch has put together several solid rounds lately, recently producing a four-tournament stretch of top-15 finishes. He’s happy to see his increased practice routine paying dividends.

“I’ve found a lot of dirt on the range,” he said. “Just worked my tail off. It’s good to see all of those hours and hours kind of paying off.”

But the job is not complete. When Gooch won at Valderrama in 2023, he had to overtake DeChambeau on the final day. Last year’s result showed that a rally from seven shots down is possible. Valderrama is a difficult course, and scores can go off the rails fast, leaving the door open for the chasers.

“I’ve got a chance,” Johnson said.

“It’s doable,” added Rahm.

“Everything has to go my way tomorrow,” noted Garcia. “Not only do I have to play really well, but then the leaders have to play badly. It’s a big combination of things.”

Gooch is ready for the challenge — and ready to return to the top of the podium.

“Nothing is given tomorrow,” he said. “Just because I played good today, it has no bearing on the results tomorrow. Tomorrow is a fresh day, and we’ve got to go have a great day.”

TEAM SCORES

LIV Golf’s new scoring format this season now involves all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. Here are the results and scores for each team after Round 1 and Round 2 of LIV Golf Andalucía.

ROUND 2

1. 4ACES GC +2 (Johnson 64, Reed 71, Pieters 72, Varner III 72; Rd. 2 score: -5)
2. SMASH GC +3 (Gooch 66, Koepka 70, McDowell 71, Kokrak 72; Rd. 2 score: -5)
3. LEGION XIII +7 (McKibbin 69, Rahm 70, Hatton 72, Surratt 76; Rd. 2 score: +3)
4. FIREBALLS GC +8 (Ancer 69, Garcia 69, Puig 70, Ballester 75; Rd. 2 score: -1)
5. HYFLYERS GC +10 (Steele 70, Tringale 71, Mickelson 72, Ogletree 72; Rd. 2 score: +1)
6. CRUSHERS GC +11 (DeChambeau 72, Howell III 73, Lahiri 73, Casey 74; Rd. 2 score: +8)
7. IRON HEADS GC +12 (Kozuma 68, Lee 68, Jang 72, Na 73; Rd. 2 score: -3)
8. CLEEKS GC +13 (Meronk 70, Kaymer 72, Bland 73, Kjettrup 74; Rd. 2 score: +5)
9. STINGER GC +15 (Oosthuizen 69, Grace 70, Schwartzel 72, Burmester 73; Rd. 2 score: E)
T10. RANGEGOATS GC +17 (Campbell 69, Watson 71, Uihlein 72, Masaveu 75; Rd. 2 score: +3)
T10. MAJESTICKS GC +17 (Horsfield 70, Stenson 72, Westwood 72, Poulter 75; Rd. 2 score: +5)
T12. TORQUE GC +19 (Muñoz 70, Pereira 72, Ortiz 73, Niemann 75; Rd. 2 score: +6)
T12. RIPPER GC +19 (Jones 70, Herbert 72, Smith 73, Leishman 79; Rd. 2 score: +10)
Wild Cards: C. Lee 73, Kim 73

ROUND 1

1. CRUSHERS GC +3 (DeChambeau 70, Casey 72, Howell III 72, Lahiri 73)
2. LEGION XIII +4 (Rahm 72, Surratt 71, Hatton 72, McKibbin 74)
3. 4ACES GC +7 (Reed 70, Pieters 73, Varner III 73, Johnson 75)
T4. CLEEKS GC +8 (Bland 71, Kaymer 73, Meronk 73, Kjettrup 75)
T4. SMASH GC +8 (Gooch 69, Kokrak 71, Koepka 76, McDowell 76)
T6. HYFLYERS GC +9 (Mickelson 72, Tringale 73, Ogletree 74, Steele 74)
T6. RIPPER GC +9 (Smith 69, Jones 74, Leishman 74, Herbert 76)
T6. FIREBALLS GC +9 (Ancer 73, Ballester 73, Garcia 73, Puig 74)
9. MAJESTICKS GC +12 (Poulter 71, Horsfield 74, Westwood 74, Stenson 77)
10. TORQUE GC +13 (Niemann 69, Muñoz 74, Pereira 75, Ortiz 79)
11. RANGEGOATS GC +14 (Uihlein 73, Campbell 74, Watson 74, Masaveu 77)
T12. IRON HEADS GC +15 (Kozuma 73, Na 73, Jang 76, Lee 77)
T12. STINGER GC +15 (Grace 70, Schwartzel 74, Oosthuizen 77, Burmester 78)
Wild Cards: C. Lee 73, Kim 76

This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf.

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