Talor Gooch birdied the penultimate hole on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Joaquin Niemann going into the final round of the LIV Golf Invitational Boston.
America’s Gooch, who finished in the top 10 in the first three events of the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series, shot a five-under par 65 at International Golf Club and led the 48-man field on 12-under.
The upstart circuit has caused havoc in the golf world, with the established PGA Tour and DP World Tour scrambling to keep their top players from defecting to a circuit that offers massive purses of $25 million for its 54-hole events, as well as reported signing bonuses for big-name players.
The series’ biggest coup so far has been the signing of Australia’s Smith earlier this week, which has been accused of “sportswashing” Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
Smith, who was one stroke back at the start of Saturday’s round, shot a one-under par 69 that included a double bogey and two bogeys.
However, the 29-year-old Australian finished on a high note with an eagle at the 18th, which was set up by a second shot over a stand of trees straight toward the flag.
His seven-under total tied him for eighth place, five shots back of the lead heading into the final round.
Gooch used a methodical approach to overcome an opening bogey and take the lead.
“It’s all about hitting the fairways out here,” Gooch explained. “I’m confident that I’ll score higher from the fairways. If that means lying down, I’m going to do it.”
Gooch will attempt to become the first American to win a LIV Golf event. Dustin Johnson, the former world number one, was also in contention for the title after shooting a seven-under-par 63 to finish third on 10-under.
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