Even in professional golf, you will struggle to see two rounds as spectacular as Talor Gooch's, with the American firing back-to-back 62s as he amassed an almost unassailable lead of 10 shots with just 18 holes remaining in Adelaide.
During his first round, Gooch carded 10 birdies and eight pars, with the 31-year-old then producing an eagle, eight birdies and eight pars on Saturday to sit 10 clear of the next six players at 10-under-par, which include Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen.
Speaking about his incredible display, Gooch stated that: "You know, it's hard to say. Everything is just going my way. I'm hitting the ball where I want it to go. A couple times where I missed some shots, I ended up in a decent spot, and yeah, it's just a lot of people have asked the last 24 hours, how did you do it, give me the secret basically, and it's like, if I had the secret, we would write that book and everyone would know it. The game is feeling really good right now and, hopefully, we can keep it going."
Obviously, with such a big statement being made by the Range Goats GC player, it has drawn attention from his fellow LIV players, with six-time Major winner, and recent Masters runner-up finisher, Phil Mickelson, claiming that it's "a rarity to have after two rounds such a big lead by Talor Gooch. That's some exceptional play. To have a 10-shot lead after two rounds, that's almost unheard of. It doesn't happen often. I don't know if it's ever happened here on LIV Golf."
Along with Mickelson, Range Goats GC Captain, Bubba Watson, had nothing but praise for his fellow teammate, as he stated: "It's funny, we joked yesterday, for us to get the podium, he's going to have to shoot 30-under. I guess he took it to heart, shot 10-under each day. He's playing great... He's such a steady player, Gooch is, and around this golf course, you've got to put the ball in certain positions, and he's doing that obviously nicely."
Two of the players who lie 10 back of Gooch are Oosthuizen and Koepka, with both men claiming that it'll be "tough to beat" the American over the final day. Such was the surprising nature of his low round, Oosthuizen claimed that 20-under after two rounds is "sort of unheard of."
Looking to take home the $4 million first prize, which will be the biggest payday of his career, Gooch will begin the final day comfortably ahead of a number of players, with a record comeback being needed for them to pick up the title. For reference, the biggest comeback in PGA Tour history came at the 1999 Open Championship, where Paul Lawrie claimed the Claret Jug after Jean Van de Velde's infamous 72nd hole antics at Carnoustie.
