Joaquin Niemann delivered a clutch finish on Sunday at LIV Golf Korea, winning his first individual title of the season in a playoff against Taylor Gooch.
Heading into the final round, the Torque GC captain was tied with Gooch at nine-under. After going blow-for-blow on the front nine with the OKGC Captain, Niemann took the lead with a par on the par-4 12th hole.
Bryson DeChambeau stormed back to catch Gooch coming down the stretch, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to get into the playoff as Gooch drained a lengthy birdie putt on the par-3 16th to pull ahead of DeChambeau and tie the lead.
Even with two holes left to play and the leaderboard tightening around him, Niemann never faltered. He closed out his round with a par on 18 to force a playoff with Gooch.
Niemann wasted no time in overtime. He set the tone quickly with a towering drive down the left side of the fairway. While Gooch, on the other hand, overcooked his tee shot and found his way into the right rough — leaving the door ajar.
With a wedge in hand, Niemann seized the opportunity and stuck his approach to three feet followed by a clutch birdie putt to secure his first individual LIV Golf title of the season.
In a post-round press conference, Niemann reflected on the shot that set up his winning birdie, saying “It’s probably the best feeling.”
“I love having that pressure, knowing that you’ve got to hit the shot and you win the tournament. I feel like that’s what I always dreamed when I was a kid, hitting that last shot and making that last putt,” he continued.
With his victory in Korea, Niemann now has eight individual LIV Golf titles — the most of any player in league history.
While DeChambeau finished one shot back of the individual title this week, it’s not all bad. Thanks to strong finishes from Travis Smyth and Charles Howell III, who both shot seven-under to finish tied for eighth, the Crushers secured another team title as they look to close the gap on the 4Aces — who currently sit atop the team rankings.
The purse at LIV Golf Korea this week was a whopping $30 million. With his individual victory, Niemann heads home with a $4 million-dollar payout, while Gooch leaves with $2.25 million. With his third-place finish, DeChambeau will walk away with $1.5 million plus his share of the $3 million-dollar payout the Crushers earned with their victory.
