Before Talor Gooch heads into the final round of LIV Korea, his entire focus will be on the NBA Western Conference Finals. The 34-year-old also admitted how his favorite side, the Oklahoma City Thunder, often gets his heart beating fast.

Gooch hails from Oklahoma and was also a student at the Oklahoma State University. His love for the Oklahoma City Thunder goes way back. During his appearance at a press conference amid LIV Golf Korea, Gooch confessed that OKC Thunder games make him extremely "nervous."

He said, "I'll be able to watch all of it. I was talking with my caddie on the way down the 15th hole today, or something like that. I definitely get more nervous for Thunder games, important Thunder games, than about anything else,” said Gooch.

“Ironically, tomorrow might be a good thing to watch the Thunder and kind of get some of my nerves out of my system before we tee it off. But I will be watching all of it.” Gooch added.

On Sunday, the final round of LIV Korea will begin at around 1 p.m. in South Korean time, whereas Thunder's game against the San Antonio Spurs takes place at 9 AM. The timings don’t clash, and that works in Gooch’s favor.

The OKGC captain, Gooch, shared the 54-hole lead with Torque GC captain Joaquin Niemann. Niemann shot a 4-under-66, and Gooch ended with a bogey-free 69 to stay at the top of the leaderboard with 9-under.

Gooch began the third round with 14 straight pars and then birdied the par-5 15th. The 34-year-old finished the round with three more pars to remain in contention for his first win of the season.

Gooch had entered the third round with the solo lead, after scoring eight birdies and posting an impressive second-round score of 63 at the Asiad Country Club. 

Now, sharing the lead, Gooch and Niemann will tee up in the same final group for the first time since the 2022 LIV Golf Boston. 

The Co-Leaders Make Their Final Round Mindset Clear

Talor Gooch and Joaquin Niemann are no strangers to pressure situations. This will be Gooch’s 16th and Niemann’s 14th feature in the final round of a LIV Golf event.

“I'm going to try to go for every fairway, every green, and then try to make every putt," Niemann said. 

And Gooch shared the same approach, saying, “I'm going to try to hit a bunch of fairways, a bunch of greens, and make a bunch of putts." 

Although both are winless this season, they have been on the podium often. Niemann is the league’s all-time individual wins leader with seven, including five last season. Gooch, on the other hand, has four LIV titles, three of those coming in 2023. 

On Sunday, both will enter the Asiad Country Club with an attacking mindset in hopes of putting an end to their winless streak.

Who do you think comes out on top at LIV Korea? Share your prediction in the comments.

Follow Club Golf for more

Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Souvik Roy