Joaquin Niemann Wins LIV Golf Korea in a Playoff, and the Crushers Make Their Own History Too

Image: Birdie Report

Joaquin Niemann is back to doing the most LIV thing possible: collecting trophies again.

According to LIV Golf’s official May 31, 2026 recap, Niemann beat Talor Gooch with a birdie on the first playoff hole at Asiad Country Club to win LIV Golf Korea in Busan. The official leaderboard shows Niemann and Gooch each finished regulation at 12-under, while Bryson DeChambeau finished solo third at 11-under.

That win is Niemann’s first of 2026 and his record eighth LIV individual title, which LIV says is three more than any other player in league history.

This piece is based on official LIV Golf coverage checked on June 1, 2026. No pretending I was hanging around a Busan scoring trailer listening for captain quotes.

Sunday’s Setup Actually Paid Off

We wrote before the final round that Niemann and Gooch had given LIV Golf Korea the Sunday fight it needed.

That part held up.

LIV’s official recap says both players shot 3-under 67 in the final round after sharing the 54-hole lead at 9-under. Niemann made four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the front nine to move in front, but Gooch answered with a 28-foot birdie on 16 to pull even again.

That gave the event something LIV does not produce often enough:

• two established winners
• a real back-nine trade of pressure
• a playoff that felt earned instead of accidental

On the extra hole, Niemann hit his approach from 150 yards inside six feet and made the winning birdie.

That is a pretty efficient way to end an argument.

The Crushers Did Not Ride Shotgun in This Story

The team side actually mattered too.

LIV’s recap says Crushers GC finished at 23-under, three clear of OKGC at 20-under, with Ripper GC third at 15-under. That gave DeChambeau’s team its second win of the season and a record 10th regular-season team title.

The most useful detail is that they did it with a lineup tweak. Travis Smyth filled in for the injured Paul Casey and still finished tied for eighth at 7-under. LIV says that made Smyth just the second reserve player ever to celebrate a LIV trophy.

That is not background noise. That is one of the few team-story details that actually feels like sports.

Niemann Needed This More Than the Record Book Did

The record is nice. The timing matters more.

LIV’s own notes say Niemann came into the week without a win through the first seven events of the season after winning five times in 2025. That is not a disaster by normal standards. By his standards, it is enough to create noise.

So this result does a few things at once:

• ends the early-season shutout
• reminds everyone he is still the league’s most repeatable closer
• keeps him planted in the real-star tier with Rahm and Bryson

If you followed the earlier Korea setup in our first-look piece, this is basically the best competitive version of that week.

Gooch and Bryson Still Matter Coming Out of It

This was not a one-man event even with Niemann holding the trophy at the end.

Gooch pushed it all the way to a playoff and looked close to a fifth LIV title. DeChambeau finished one shot short of extra holes after LIV says he fixed a swing issue that had left him spinning his wheels for most of the week. And Dustin Johnson quietly played his final 40 holes bogey-free to finish fourth at 10-under, which is at least mildly alive by 2026 DJ standards.

That is a better leaderboard than the league usually gets on a random week.

Bottom Line

Joaquin Niemann beat Talor Gooch with a birdie on the first playoff hole on Sunday, May 31, 2026 to win LIV Golf Korea, grab his first 2026 victory, and extend his record to eight LIV individual titles.

At the same time, Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC won the team title and pushed their regular-season total to 10, the most in league history.

For once, LIV got a finish that felt like an actual sports event instead of a concept presentation.