Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Sport
Steve Larkin

Gooch: I can get LIV victory by not thinking of winning

Talor Gooch has a four-shot lead entering the second round of the LIV Golf tournament in Adelaide. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Talor Gooch reckons he can win by not thinking about winning.

The American holds a four-stroke lead entering the second round of LIV Golf's inaugural tournament in Australia.

The 31-year-old carded a stunning 10 under in Friday's opening round at the Grange Golf Club in Adelaide's west.

And Gooch says he'll have wise words from his father ringing in his ears when teeing off on Saturday.

"I always call my dad before each round," Gooch said.

"I called him, I think it was probably 10 at night back home.

"He just said what he always says to me: it's all the same ... go hit a bunch of fairways, go hit a bunch of greens."

Gooch leads from England's Richard Bland and South Africa's Dean Burmester at six under, with New Zealander Danny Lee among five golfers at five under.

Eight golfers including Sergio Garcia are four under with Australia's Cam Smith among those at three under.

Gooch's opening round came before a 35,000-strong sell-out crowd - the same numbers are expected on Saturday and Sunday, both also sell-outs.

"With the energy of the crowds, I want to win," Gooch said.

"But I know thinking about and focusing on winning is not how you win.

"For me, just go out there, try to hit a bunch of fairways, hit a bunch of greens, see if we can make the putts."

Australia's Smith described the home crowd support as "epic" but tiring.

"As soon as I'm over the ball and I have got the glove on, I'm really trying to do my own stuff," he said.

"It's easy to get absorbed in that (crowd) stuff but I think I did a pretty good job of really knuckling down and trying to hit the right shot.

"I had two or three lip-outs on the back nine so it could have easily been another two or three shots.

"I still feel like I'm really in the tournament ... I just need those putts to roll in."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.