LIV Golf’s Gooch waiting for game to get easy again, Li in the hunt at Volvo China Open, Kang chasing Korean glory
- Talor Gooch goes into tournament at Sentosa Golf Club as defending champion
- China’s Li Haotong shoots bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to sit one off the leaders in Shenzhen
Talor Gooch is waiting for golf “to get easy again” ahead of the defence of his LIV Golf Singapore title this week.
The American finished top of the circuit’s individual standings in 2023, but has struggled so far this season, and was in a tie for 26th in Adelaide last week when he was also defending champion.
A tie for second in Las Vegas has been his best result so far, and he is presently 10th in the player standings this time around, some distance behind leader Joaquin Niemann.
Gooch said that after “playing great golf last year”, this year had not been an easy one, even if he has three top 10 finishes to his name.
“Last year I had ultimate ball control, and it’s one of those times in golf where it feels like you’re never going to play bad because it’s so easy,” he said.
“But you fall back on those moments knowing, like hey, I’ve been here, I’ve done it, I can do it again. Obviously I like this golf course, and I like Singapore. It’s hard not to – hard for the vibes to not be good this week.”
While Gooch has been battling to recapture his past form, Bryson DeChambeau leads his Crushers GC team into the first round at Sentosa Golf Club on Friday on the back of a run where seventh place finish in Adelaide was the worst result of the season.
The champions last year again look like the team to beat, and DeChambeau said his quartet’s “secret sauce” was the fact he, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri had stuck together like “Gorilla glue”.
“We golf great and we do really well on the golf course, but they’re just a great bunch of guys to hang out with and they’re great family men,” DeChambeau said. “That’s really what I appreciate about those individuals.”
Volvo China Open
Sebastian Soderberg of Sweden maintained his impressive form by shooting a bogey-free nine-under-par 63 to take a share of the first-round lead at the Volvo China Open on Thursday.
Soderberg has had runner-up finishes in the past two DP World Tour events – the Indian Open and the ISPS Handa Championship – and five top 10s in his nine tournaments in the 2024 season, helping him move to a career-best No 98 in the world rankings.
Romain Langasque of France was tied for the lead after also being bogey-free around Hidden Grace Golf Club in Shenzhen, with his round including seven straight birdies from No 16 after starting at the 10th.
China’s Li Haotong, who won the tournament in 2016, was a shot back from the lead after finishing his round with three straight birdies to be on eight under. He also didn’t make a bogey.
Hong Kong pair Jason Hak Shun-yat and Taichi Kho both shot even par rounds of 72.
Asian Tour
Kyung-nam Kang, one of Korea’s most experienced campaigners, laid down a marker on the opening day of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open, shooting a six-under-par 65 to take the lead at Namseoul Country Club.
The 41-year-old, who has won 11-times on the Korean PGA Tour but is seeking his maiden Asian Tour title, made six birdies and has a one-shot lead over compatriots Jang Yu-bin and Wooh-yun Kim, Canadian Richard T Lee and Miguel Carballo from Argentina.
Jang’s excitement at competing in this week’s event for the first time since turning professional was behind his fine start.
He finished tied eighth last year at a venue he has played many times as a member of the Korean amateur team, and his familiarity with the course was evident as he moved into contention making six birdies and one bogey.
The 21-year-old is one of Korea’s hottest properties having been part of the Korean team that won gold at last October’s Hangzhou Asian Games – the event that marked his last appearance as an amateur.
