Talor Gooch (-8) has claimed his fourth career victory in LIV Golf this Sunday, the first since 2023. He triumphed in Andalucía with two main qualities. The first was the magnificent lead he built in the first 36 holes. The second, the titanic resistance to the fabulous attack launched by Jon Rahm (-7) this Sunday at the Real Club Valderrama.
Rahm said on Saturday that there was still a lot to play for. Yes, the six-shot difference with Gooch was significant, but 18 holes at Valderrama can feel very long. And so it was. The man from Barrika followed the plan to the letter. “The goal is to halve the deficit in the first nine holes. Then we’ll see what happens,” he said after the second day.
And so it was. After the ninth hole of the day, Jon had already closed the gap to three shots behind Gooch thanks to a good two-under-par stretch. The leader was somewhat stuck at that moment. He started with a bogey on the 1st and another on the 6th, opening the door for everyone. Rahm smelled blood and then launched an all-out attack.
It was a solid and sustained attack. Today the wind was practically absent at Valderrama, but Rahm managed to generate a hurricane. Three consecutive birdies on holes 8, 9, and 10, the first two with two fantastic trademark putts, put him right in the fight and tightened the pressure on Gooch. Now, indeed, anything could happen.
Jon didn’t take his foot off the accelerator. He made a great birdie on the 14th, with a spectacular shot to the flag, and added another on the 17th, without concessions, going for the green in two from the left rough. He was pushing, and now Gooch had to respond. And the truth is, the 33-year-old golfer from Oklahoma held on like a titan, delivering a sensational response. No asterisks needed. After an unexpected bogey on the 14th due to a three-putt that tied him with Jon, he brought out the best of his repertoire. He made a huge birdie on the 15th, the monstrous par 3. Only Kaymer and Howell III had birdied it all day before Gooch arrived. The American sank an extraordinary five-meter putt.
Shortly after, when the tournament had become a head-to-head between Gooch and Rahm, as Tom McKibbin, the other who had reached the lead, fell out of the fight with two bogeys on the 18th and 1st, he pulled another sensational birdie out of the bag on the 17th, after missing the fairway to the left rough. He went all out, aiming for the green in two, taking risks, and made two impressive putts from the right escape area. Nerves of steel for a golfer who plays infinitely better than he speaks.
Everything was to be decided on the 18th. It seemed Rahm would make it a bit easier for Gooch after missing his drive far to the left. He was heavily blocked by trees and could only get it back to the fairway. His third shot, from the closely mown grass with a wedge, wasn’t definitive either. However, there appeared the sharp-toothed Rahm, the one not seen for a long time on Sundays. He sank the putt from just under five meters and saved par to stay alive. To keep the pressure on Gooch.
But no. Today Talor was not intimidated. He played the 18th by the book, as if he had been doing it all his life. He hit the centre of the fairway, reached the green, and made two putts without suffering to win by one over Jon and three over Abraham Ancer (-5).
There’s not much to reproach Jon. The man from Barrika delivered the best scorecard of his life at Valderrama. He shot 65, six under par, without bogeys. In fact, he surpassed his best result by two, the 67 he shot in the third round of the Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters in 2019. He can rest easy. Simply, Gooch knew how to hold on when the pressure was strongest. Rahm will have to keep waiting for his first victory in 2025. Until then, it wouldn’t be a bad time next week at the Open, at least he has the consolation of having won the team classification with Legion XIII ahead of Fireballs and Smash.
