Johnson, Gooch have late birdies that send their team to LIV Golf finale at Trump Doral

DORAL, Fla. — Dustin Johnson and Talor Gooch each made consecutive birdies late in their matches that sent their respective teams into the final round of the LIV Golf team championship.

Johnson let an early 3-up lead against Phil Mickelson get away, and they were all square going to the 16th hole at Trump Doral. Johnson birdied the next two holes for a 2-and-1 victory, a decisive point for his defending champion 4 Aces team.

Gooch was 1 down to Eugenio Chacarra when he birdied two straight holes to go 1 up going to their final hole. Gooch won with a par to make it 2 up, and it was enough for the Range Goats to beat Fireballs and stay in the hunt for the $16 million team prize.

Joaquin Niemann and his Torque team had no trouble against Stinger, winning both singles and the foursomes match. Bryson DeChambeau held on to beat Martin Kaymer as his Crushers won both singles matches against the Cleeks.

That means 4 Aces, Range Goats, Crushers and Torque will compete for the big prize. Sunday’s final round is stroke play, and the scores of all four players count toward the team total.

The four teams that lost Saturday will compete for the Nos. 5-8 spots in the final standing, while the quarterfinal losers play for Nos. 9-12.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf