Talor Gooch with his Aussie caddie Malcolm Baker in Adelaide. LIV Golf

Talor Gooch, who joined Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats from the 4 Aces in the off-season, completed a wire-to-wire victory on Sunday at LIV Golf Adelaide, just as his old team captured their first trophy of the 2023 LIV Golf League.

Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces, which had podium finishes in the first three events of the season, produced a sizzling final round in a tight team battle at The Grange Golf Club. With Patrick Reed shooting a 7-under 65, new member Peter Uihlein contributing a 66 and Johnson adding a 67 (Pat Perez shot the same score), the Aces finished with a LIV Golf-record 47-under to win by a stroke over the RangeGoats. The all-South African Stinger took third.

Last year, the all-American 4Aces won four regular-season events and the Miami Team Championship, all on home soil. Their performance in Adelaide was their most dominant, with all four members finishing in the top 10 in points.

“Obviously, it was a great week,” said Johnson, whose team increased their lead atop the season-long points standings to 44 points. “All four guys played well. To get our first win outside the US was nice.”

Gooch, meanwhile, had to endure some tight moments despite entering the day with a 10-shot lead thanks to two consecutive 10-under 62s. A four-hole stretch in which he suffered his first two bogeys of the week, followed by a double-bogey at the par-5 10th, whittled his deficit. At one point, he led by only two shots.

But after his double, he responded with birdies at the 11th and 13th holes to restore some breathing room, then parred in the rest of the way for a one-over 73, leaving him at 19-under for the tournament. That ties the all-time LIV Golf best score for three rounds.

“Golf is just really hard,” said Gooch as he proudly cradled the LIV Golf trophy while wearing the Goat Chain, his team’s nod to winning performances. “It’s hard to put back-to-back days together like I did and even harder to do it three times in a row. I actually played fine out there today. The golf gods, I think, said: ‘We don’t want this first win to be easy on you.’

“Had a couple bad breaks here and there, so it made things interesting, but it was cool to kind of overcome the adversity and dig deep after I made a double on No. 10. It was kind of a point of we’re either going to dig deep and do this or you’re going to stumble coming in. It was cool to dig deep and get the job done.”

Crushers’s Anirban Lahiri shot a 65 to claim second place at 16-under while four players tied for third at 15-under: Reed, Perez, Cameron Tringale of HyFlyers and Cameron Smith, the captain of Rippers, the all-Australian team that were the crowd favourites this week. Reed took third in points via the tiebreaker.

“There’s obviously a want in Australia, I think, for really high-quality golf, and I think the fans here really enjoyed what LIV offers,” Smith said. “There’s no reason why we can’t make it bigger.”

While Gooch is used to celebrating team titles as a member of the 4 Aces last year, he was hoping to celebrate another one with his new team. Although the RangeGoats came up one shot short, the podium finish was their first as a team.

“It was frustrating that we couldn’t get the win for sure, but it was a step in the right direction for us as a team,” Gooch said. “I think it’s just a matter of time before we’re up on that podium.”

Here are some other takeaways from LIV Golf Adelaide

Koepka hits hole-in-one

Chase Koepka celebrates hole-in-one in Adelaide. LIV Golf

Smash’s Chase Koepka recorded the second hole-in-one in LIV Golf with his ace at the 150-yard par-3 12th on Sunday. The celebration was as momentous as the shot.

The 12th, otherwise known as The Watering Hole, is completely circled by stands and fans. When Koepka’s ball rolled in the cup, fans celebrated by showering Koepka with beer on the tee box while he chest-bumped his caddie as well as playing partners Ian Poulter and Paul Casey.

“A once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Koepka, who used a 9-iron to record the sixth hole-in-one of his career. “It’s something to always remember. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I can just say that. I don’t know if I can duplicate what I just did out there, but it’ll be really cool coming back here because I know everyone will remember it.”

Last year, Matthew Wolff recorded LIV’s first ace in Boston.

Rippers blown away by home support  in Oz

Huge crowds in Adelaide. LIV Golf

The all-Australian Ripper team moved up in the team standings to finish in the points in eighth place. It wasn’t the result they had hoped at the beginning of the week, but the success of the event and the support from the sold-out crowd all three days left Cameron Smith and team in good spirits.

“I expected it to be huge, somewhat like this,” Marc Leishman said. “I was saying this morning, I’ve had chances to win majors, albeit not in Australia, to have the home crowds like that, that was a highlight of my golfing career, along with all my wins. You can’t separate wins, which one was better than another, because they’re all special in different ways.

“But on the whole, this week was really, really special and something I’ll remember forever, and hopefully we can keep coming back here for years to come.”

Smith shot a final-round 66 to move up the individual standings, finishing just four shots off the lead. He supplied several highlight moments on Sunday, including holing out from the bunker at the 14th.

“Pretty exhausted,” Smith said. “It was a big week to get through, with lots of commitments and the fans. It’s so cool to have those people behind you, but it’s also really draining, as well, having the ovations on every green and tee. Yeah, it was an epic week but a very tiring week.

Uihlein’s two teams, two wins

Peter Uihlein became the first player to win team titles with two different teams. Last year, he was on the winning Smash team that won in Jeddah, and now he’s on the 4 Aces team that won in Adelaide.

“I don’t know if that’s good or not, but yeah, that’s pretty cool,” Uihlein said. “I’m thrilled to be a part of the team this week, and just trying to do what I can to contribute. These are three horses over here, I’m just trying to hitch a ride. It’s been fun.”

Gooch hails Aussie caddie

Winner Talor Gooch said his Australian-born caddie, Malcolm Baker, was a huge help this week. As Gooch conducted his press conference Sunday, Baker was in the back, celebrating by hoisting an Australian flag into the air.

“His green-reading ability out here is incredible,” Gooch said. “I leaned on him more this week than I have in a long time. He was so spot on early on, and it just gave me confidence in him, and I think it gave confidence in himself.

“I made a bunch of putts the last couple days, a bunch of 8-, 10-, 12-footers, and without him, I don’t make as many putts, plain and simple.”

Gooch also cited Baker’s help as his lead shrank throughout the day.

“He did a really, really good job of just not wavering and just being himself and just acting like this is another round of golf, even though it was a huge round of golf for us,” Gooch said. “His constant mentality and emotions, just how he conducts himself in those moments are huge for me for keeping me calm and making things easier than what they feel like they are in the moment.”