As Talor Gooch stood over his 12-foot birdie putt on the ultimate gap of regulation Sunday afternoon at LIV Golf Andalucia, his confidence degree was extraordinarily excessive. Along with making a optimistic stroke, he imagined the celebration afterward when the putt dropped.

“Simply felt like I used to be going to make it,” Gooch stated. “Earlier than I even hit the putt, I used to be already visualizing the fist pump that was coming with it. I’m glad it went in.”

Gooch’s dramatic birdie at Actual Membership Valderrama gave him a one-stroke victory over a battling Bryson DeChambeau and makes the RangeGoats GC star the primary three-time particular person winner in LIV Golf’s younger historical past. Gooch shot a final-round 4-under 67 to complete at 12 beneath, with the Crushers GC captain at 11 beneath after his 2-under 69. Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka completed third at 9 beneath.

All three of Gooch’s victories in 2023 have come exterior his native United States, as he beforehand received back-to-back occasions in Adelaide and Singapore to turn into the primary participant to win consecutive LIV Golf occasions.

“Final 12 months I didn’t get a win, so this 12 months I used to be simply so targeted on getting a person win,” stated Gooch, who now leads the Particular person Champion race by 27 factors over Koepka. “You don’t suppose a lot previous the primary one till you get the primary one. I undoubtedly didn’t have three in thoughts for the season, however it’s cool that we’re right here, and it’s particularly cool to have the third one right here at Valderrama.”

Gooch wasn’t the one three-time winner Sunday. The Spanish-speaking Torque GC, captained by Joaquin Niemann, additionally received its third staff title of the season with a final-round greatest 7-under counting rating to complete at 16 beneath, 5 strokes forward of the RangeGoats, with Crushers GC ending third. Niemann and Sebastián Muñoz posted 3-under 69s whereas David Puig contributed a 2-under 69. These three performed the final three holes of their rounds in a cumulative 4 beneath.

It’s the second consecutive win for Torque, who received final month in DC. Torque is now simply seven factors behind season-long chief 4Aces GC, who completed fourth at Valderrama.

The win was particularly candy for the 21-year-old Puig, the youngest participant on the LIV Golf League roster and one in every of three Spanish-born gamers within the discipline together with Fireballs GC’s Sergio Garcia and Eugenio Chacarra.

“It’s superb,” stated Puig. “Enjoying at house is all the time good, and it’s much more particular while you get a win and while you get a win with this group of fellows. It was an ideal week.”

Mentioned Niemann: “Having David additionally the principle character of this event is basically particular for us. I believe it makes it so much simpler after we do all the things collectively like we’re a staff.

“You’ll be able to see within the outcomes, we’re enjoying nice golf, and simply wanting ahead for the remainder of the season, attempt to preserve doing the identical and having a great time, as properly.”

Gooch definitely is enjoying nice golf as he went toe-to-toe with main champions DeChambeau and Koepka within the remaining group. After making his solely bogey of the day on the par-4 ninth, Gooch was a bogey-free 4 beneath on the again 9.

DeChambeau was two strokes forward on the flip however Gooch caught him with birdies at 10 and 13. They every birdied the par-5 seventeenth to stay tied. Gooch then hit a superb strategy shot to 12 ft, whereas DeChambeau needed to navigate bushes together with his second shot, his ball touchdown within the tough behind the inexperienced. His chip shot arrange a straightforward par, however Gooch made it a moot level by draining his birdie putt.

“My recreation is clearly in a great state, and I knew if I might get myself within the fairway a bunch, we have been going to have an opportunity to win down the stretch,” Gooch stated. “We simply stored plodding alongside, plodding alongside, and didn’t actually make a bunch of putts. That was the longest putt of the day, clearly, so it was good to avoid wasting the perfect one for final.”

RD 3 STAT LEADERS

Driving distance – Peter Uihlein, 340.5-yard common

Longest drive – Peter Uihlein, 382.7 yards (seventeenth gap)

Driving accuracy – Cameron Smith, 86% (12 of 14)

Greens in regulation – Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, 78% (14 of 18)

Scrambling – Bryson DeChambeau, 100% (4 of 4)

Fewest putts – David Puig, 22 putts

Most birdies – Talor Gooch, 8

Bogey-free rounds – Bryson DeChambeau, 63