By Matt Smith
The 4 Aces were once again at the top of LIV Golf — but this time it wasn’t thanks to the heroics of Patrick Reed or captain Dustin Johnson, rather it was the sparkling form of Talor Gooch that propelled the all-American team to the top of the team leaderboard and himself to the summit of the individual standings.

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The 30-year-old shot a five-under 65 on Day 2 near Boston where most players enjoyed the new rule allowing them to wear shorts. While Gooch sits on his own on 12-under, new recruit Joaquin Niemann in one strike back for Torque at The International.

Gooch’s captain Johnson is third as he looks to continue his brilliant form in LIV Golf, where he has finished in the top 10 in every competition so far.

“I’ve been playing solid I feel like every week,” said Johnson. “Each round I’ve felt like I’m doing the right things. Eventually it’s all going to come together. The game is definitely in good form, and I like the direction it’s heading in.”

Sihwan Kim’s form went from night to day as he went 24 shots better on Saturday than Friday, with a lowest round of 63 but still sits dead last after that opening 87.

Despite the low scores, Gooch had a word of caution. “There’s some more meat on the bone out there,” he said. “You don’t take good rounds for granted but you also aren’t satisfied. You know you can go get some more juice out of the squeeze, so hopefully we can do that tomorrow.”

Speaking of the newcomers, India’s Anirban Lahiri sits fourth on nine-under while World No. 2 Cameron Smith is five shots back of the lead in T8.

Phil Mickelson promised on Friday after his 73 was his 13th consecutive round without breaking 70 that results would improve soon, and they did just that on Saturday as the six-time major winner shot a 69 for the first time since the opening round of the LIV Golf Series back at the start of June. He will hope to improve on his 41st position in the 48-man field.

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