Talor Gooch surged into the lead at LIV Golf Korea with a 7-under 63 in the second round on Friday at Asiad Country Club in Busan, South Korea.
Gooch carded eight birdies – six on the front nine – and a lone bogey at the par-4 fifth hole to move to 8-under, one stroke ahead of Bryson DeChambeau. It is the eighth time the OKGC captain has shot 63 or better in LIV Golf and the seventh time he has held the 36-hole lead.
A four-time winner on the tour, Gooch chipped in for a birdie on his second hole, the par-4 ninth, and birdied six of his last eight holes.
"The game still doesn't feel great, but we're working hard, and we're working in the right direction," said Gooch, who entered the week ranked 29th in points but could climb to fifth with a win. "... Hopefully we can just kind of keep it going and get this train rolling."
First-round co-leader DeChambeau is alone at 7-under after shooting 68 on Friday, finishing with three birdies and a bogey. The Crushers GC captain hit only eight of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens in regulation.
"My putting saved me today," DeChambeau said. "I felt like I was hitting it really well yesterday, driving it well, and today just kind of went sideways."
'SHOT-MAKER'S COURSE'
DeChambeau is looking for his third win of the LIV Golf season after missing the cut at the PGA Championship earlier this month. He is one of the few big hitters having a strong start at what Gooch called a "shot-maker's course."
"It's a testament to how great of a golfer Bryson is to be able to play bomber's paradises and then this course is a little bit more of a shot-maker's course," Gooch said. "It's a fun course, and it's just another example that a course doesn't have to be 8 000 yards to be a good test."
Five golfers are tied for third at 5-under, including Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith of Australia (68 on Friday) and Torque GC captain Joaquin Niemann (69) of Chile. Belgium's Thomas Pieters (69), Zimbabwe's Scott Vincent (70) and Charles Howell III (70) also are in that group.
Korean GC's Doyeob Mun (68) is tied for eighth place at 4-under with Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia (69) of Spain.
Gooch's OKGC leads the team standings at 14-under, one shot ahead of DeChambeau's Crushers and three clear of Ripper GC.