Rd. 3 Andalucía News and Notes: Gooch delivers in clutch to return to winner's circle

SAN ROQUE, Spain – Smash GC's Talor Gooch returned to the LIV Golf individual winner's circle for the first time since 2023, while Jon Rahm's Legion XIII took home their third team title of the season at LIV Golf Andalucía.

Here are some other news, notes and stats from a thrilling final round at Real Club Valderrama.

RELATED: Round 3 Recap | Leaderboard | Round 3 Highlights

LIV GOLF ANDALUCÍA FINAL ROUND NOTES

GOOCH’S BIG MOMENT

Talor Gooch said “nothing was easy” in Sunday’s final round, which started with him leading by four shots but having to make pressure-packed shots down the stretch. Nothing was more clutch that his approach shot from 210 yards into the 18th green while needing to protect a one-shot lead against Jon Rahm. It landed pin high and finished softly on the back fringe to set up a two-putt winning par.

“There's a few shots on that back nine that I'm going to never forget kind of moments,” Gooch said. “Obviously the second shot on 18 is one of those moments. …

“My caddie Mal [Baker] when we got done, he said that second shot on 18, he said, that's the best iron shot he can remember seeing. It was not the place you want to be to try to win a golf tournament, but we hit a phenomenal golf shot and got it done.”

McKIBBIN’S 66

Tom McKibbin made plenty of noise Sunday with a 5-under 66 that helped fuel Legion XIII’s team victory and also put him in a position to challenge for his first individual title.

A couple of late bogeys dropped McKibbin back into a tie for fourth, his best result since joining LIV Golf in the preseason. The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland is finding his form at just the right time, as he’ll now join 18 other LIV Golf players at next week’s Open Championship in his home country at Royal Portrush.

“My game has felt good for the last couple of weeks, and to finish off well here today around a very difficult golf course and going into another difficult golf course next week gives me a lot of confidence going there,” McKibbin said.

Rahm couldn’t be happier to see the youngster perform.

“Tom has got one of the prettier swings on this planet,” Rahm said. “I don't know what they have in Northern Ireland, but they have two of the greatest swings ever seen in this game. His composure, his awareness on the course, he's a champion as it is. He's close to getting a big one at some point.”

ANCER IN THIRD

Fireballs GC's Abraham Ancer produced his second podium finish of the season with a solo third, riding a hot start en route to a bogey-free 66 at 5 under. The native of Mexico had three birdies in his first five holes to shoot one of the four bogey-free rounds on the day.

Earlier this year, Ancer tied for second in Adelaide as part of the winning Fireballs team that began a streak of three consecutive wins. His finish at Valderrama moved him into ninth in the season-long Individual points standings. Andalucía winner Talor Gooch moved into sixth.

JONES, GRACE CAN BREATHE EASIER

Ripper GC’s Matt Jones started the week in 48th place, the last spot in the Open Zone. Stinger GC’s Branden Grace started in 49th, the first spot in the Drop Zone.

Both delivered huge performances at Andalucía that likely ensures them of avoiding relegation for players who finished 49th or worse in points at the end of the regular season.

Jones shot a final-round 65 – matching Jon Rahm’s score for low round on Sunday – while Grace shot a 69, as both players tied for fourth at 4 under.

As a result, Jones is now 36th in points with 19.25 while Grace is 37th at 19.10. The projected cut line to avoid relegation is just under 6 points with three regular-season tournaments left.

For Jones, an original LIV Golf member, it’s his best-ever league result. For Grace, also an original member and the winner of LIV Golf’s first U.S. event in Portland in 2022, it’s his best result since a runner-up finish at DC in 2023.

“It's been a tough two years,” said Grace, who has battled a wrist injury that will likely need surgery. “It's been a hard grind. But I've never given up. The team has had my back. They've put their confidence in me, and it's nice to see the guys when I finish. It means a lot for them as well to see me playing good, and it's nice to have that bond in the team and have them behind you.”

STREAKS END

Crushers GC’s three-tournament win streak came to an end as Bryson DeChambeau’s team shot just 1 under to finish in seventh place at 10 over for the week. The Crushers dropped to second place in the season-long standings to Legion XIII.

Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann’s streak of winning every other tournament this season also ended. Niemann started the tournament with a bogey-free 69 to take a share of the lead but shot 75-71 to finish at even par and tie for 23rd.

Niemann remains atop the Individual Championship standings, although his lead has been reduced. Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm moved into second ahead of DeChambeau and is just over 12 points behind Niemann.

LIV GOLF ANDALUCÍA ROUND 3 STATS LEADERS

Driving accuracy: Sebastian Munoz, Henrik Stenson, 85.71% (12 of 14 fairways hit)

Driving distance average (for measured holes 11 and 17): Adrian Meronk, 350.5 yards avg.

Longest drive (among measured holes 11 and 17): Jon Rahm, 373.4 yards (11th hole

Greens in regulation: Jason Kokrak, 88.89% (16 of 18 greens)

Scrambling: Charl Schwartzel (7 of 7), Abraham Ancer (6 of 6), Thomas Pieters (6 of 6), Jon Rahm (4 of 4), Cameron Tringale (4 of 4), 100%

Putting: Anthony Kim, 1.22 putts per hole

Bogey-free rounds: Jon Rahm (65), Abraham Ancer (66), Cameron Tringale (67), Thomas Pieters (69)