Pro roundup: Gooch, McAllister, Moore shine on respective tours

April 23, 2023April 24, 2023 Ken MacLeod

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It was quite a weekend for professional golfers with Oklahoma ties.

First Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 and despite some struggles on Sunday, won the LIV Golf event in Adelaide, Australia.

Logan McAllister of Oklahoma City shot 21-under in the LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood National Golf Club on the Korn Ferry Tour, only to lose in a playoff to 46-year-old Scott Gutschewski, who rolled in a long birdie putt on the first playoff hole.

The second-place finish will be huge for McAllister going forward in giving him status for the full season and hopefully earning a spot on the PGA Tour.

Players with Oklahoman ties occupied four of the top eight spots. McAllister’s former University of Oklahoma teammate Chris Gotterup was tied for fifth at 19-under as was third-round leader Kevin Dougherty, a former Oklahoma State Cowboy. Edmond resident Rhein Gibson shot 18 under and tied for eighth. Another former Sooner, Michael Kellerman of Edmond, shot 10-under and tied for 36th.

Also notable, former Jenks High School and OSU golfer Brendon Jelley shot his best round on the KFT with a second-round 8-under 63. Unfortunately, after shooting 3-over in the first round, that moved him to 5-under, which missed the cut by a shot.

On the PGA Tour, former Edmond resident Taylor Moore continued his stellar play, teaming with Michael NeSmith to shoot 26 under and finished tied for fourth in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The two each made $261,225.

Not bad for a week, but nothing like the $4 million cashed by Gooch, who looked for a moment to be in danger of losing his 10-shot lead. although he came much closer than he would have liked during his maiden LIV Golf victory in Adelaide.

“The golf gods, I think, said, ‘We don’t want this first win to be easy on you,’” Gooch said after winning $4 million for topping India’s Anirban Lahiri by three shots at The Grange Golf Club in South Australia.

The Oklahoma State alum and one-time PGA Tour winner had feasted on the 6,900-yard Adelaide Sandbelt course for the first two days of LIV’s Australian debut. Two consecutive bogey-free rounds of 62 had built a 10-shot lead at 20 under par heading into the third and final round.

Gooch began Sunday with a birdie at the par-3 fifth but his bogey-free run ended at the par-5 seventh. He dropped another shot on the eighth before a double-bogey at the par-5 10th saw his lead over a charging Lahiri cut to just two strokes with eight holes remaining.

The 31-year-old Gooch, who had coughed up two 36-hole leads previously on LIV, steadied the ship with two back-nine birdies to shoot a one-over 73, good for a 19-under-par total. Lahiri’s 65 earned him a 16-under total and a second runner-up since joining LIV in September. Patrick Reed (65) was third at 15 under.

“I think golf is just really hard,” Gooch said. “I actually played fine out there today. I had a couple bad breaks here and there, so it made things interesting, but it was cool to kind of overcome the adversity and dig deep after I made a double on No. 10. It was kind of a point of we’re either going to dig deep and do this or you’re going to stumble coming in.”Gooch and the rest of the LIV golfers will compete in LIV Tulsa May 12-14 at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Broken Arrow.

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