LIV Golf Korea Round 3: Joaquin Niemann Catches Talor Gooch as the Crushers Retake the Team Lead

Moving day at Asiad Country Club did not produce a runaway. It produced a heavyweight pairing. Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch, two players with 11 LIV Golf individual titles between them, will go into Sunday tied for the lead of LIV Golf Korea at 9 under.

Niemann climbed with a 4-under 66 built on long putts. Gooch got there the slow way, a bogey-free 69 that included exactly one birdie. Scott Vincent is alone in third, one back, and the team race flipped again: Crushers GC took the lead back at 16 under, one ahead of OKGC.

Niemann Finds the Putter

Niemann has been knocking on the door all week, hitting more greens than almost anyone in the field, and on Saturday the putts finally started to fall. The Torque GC captain rolled in three long birdie putts on the back nine, the best of them a breaking putt of roughly 34 feet at the 14th.

"Putter did behave a lot better today than the first two days, so pretty happy about that," Niemann said. On the 14th specifically: "14 was a beautiful putt."

Through 54 holes, Niemann is tied for the field lead in greens in regulation, 43 of 54. That kind of ball-striking plus a cooperative putter is a dangerous combination for a player who has been shut out in seven starts in 2026 after a five-win 2025.

Gooch's Grind

Gooch began the day with a one-shot lead and spent most of it making pars. Fourteen of them, in a row, before the only birdie of the round came at the par-5 15th. Nothing went wrong, but nothing went right either, and a 69 meant a lead over the field turned into a tie with Niemann.

There was no frustration in the post-round assessment, though. "But that's why we stay patient. Maybe tomorrow it'll come," Gooch said, the kind of line that sounds less like a shrug and more like a plan from someone with four LIV Golf wins.

Vincent and the Chasers

Vincent, still filling in for HyFlyers GC, shot 67 to sit solo third at 8 under. A top-10 finish in each of Vincent's first two HyFlyers starts is a solid résumé, but a win would be a different conversation. "Winning out here is not easy," Vincent said.

Charles Howell III and Cameron Smith are two back at 7 under after matching 68s, though Howell's came with a sting. Bogey-free through 13 holes, Howell four-putted from 35 feet for a double bogey. "Man, this place is tricky," Howell said. "If you miss the fairway, it is really hard around here."

Dustin Johnson posted the round of the day, a bogey-free 64 with six birdies, to jump to 6 under. Ben Campbell's bogey-free 66 put Campbell in the same group, alongside Bryson DeChambeau, whose 71 included two late bogeys. The defending champion has played the last 44 holes at even par and is three back.

Jon Rahm's remarkable run is over. The Legion XIII captain shot 71, with a bogey at the par-5 fourth, ending a streak of 40 straight LIV rounds at par or better. Rahm is tied for 25th at 1 under, even after hitting a 379.1-yard drive at the 11th.

Crushers Back on Top

The team leaderboard is a two-team fight with a third side hanging around. The Crushers shot 3 under on Saturday to reach 16 under. Howell and reserve Travis Smyth each signed for 68, Anirban Lahiri added a 70, and that offset DeChambeau's 71.

OKGC managed only 1 under for the day and slipped to second at 15 under. Harold Varner III's 68 and Jason Kokrak's 69 helped, but Graeme McDowell's 73 hurt. Ripper GC is three back of the lead at 12 under after a 1-under day in which Smith and Marc Leishman each shot 68 and Elvis Smylie struggled to a 74.

The best team round belonged to 4Aces GC, which went 10 under behind Johnson's 64 and a 66 from Thomas Detry to vault into fourth at 10 under. Torque was 9 under for the day, with Abraham Ancer matching the captain's 66, to reach 7 under in fifth. Korean Golf Club is 2 over after Younghan Song's 69 and three 71s, with Song and Doyeob Mun both at 3 under individually.

One Round, Two Races

Eight players are within three shots of the lead with 18 holes to play, and the top two teams are separated by a single stroke. The individual race has a co-leader looking to end a 2026 drought and a co-leader whose patience is being tested. The team race has the defending Korea champions trying to hold off a freshly rebranded OKGC.

Sunday at Asiad will reward the player who keeps the ball in the fairway and the team that avoids the big number. Saturday showed how quickly either one can go missing.

All the scoring is in the LIV Golf Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab). Earlier this week: Round 1 and Round 2 on Undrafted.

Sources: LIV Golf (Round 3 recap, leaderboard), Golf News Net. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Mateo Villalba/LIV Golf.