Toto Wolff declared "it was worth taking the risk" for both Mercedes drivers to pit with Lewis Hamilton leading the Dutch Grand Prix, despite the Briton fuming on the team radio after the race.
Hamilton was pushing towards a first race victory of the season on Sunday at Zandvoort, where he was embroiled in a gripping battle with reigning world champion Max Verstappen.
Seven-time champion Hamilton seemed to seize the initiative after Verstappen pitted following a second safety car deployment due to apparent engine issues for Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas.
While Hamilton surged into the lead, Mercedes decided the 37-year-old should pit and also called in team-mate George Russell, losing the buffer advantage over Verstappen.
That was to allow both Hamilton and Russell to compete for the win in the closing stages, but that plan came unstuck as Verstappen surged into the lead on lap 61 before easing to victory.
As Verstappen embarked on his victory lap in front of a boisterous home crowd, Hamilton furiously questioned the call over the team radio – a decision that Mercedes team principal Wolff later defended.
"First of all, Lewis is ahead. So, we're always having a problem with the call," Wolff told Sky Sports when asked about the decision.
"You can do two things. You can either pit Lewis, lose track position against Verstappen, and leave George out – screwed. You can pit both – screwed. So, it was worth taking the risk."
While Wolff defended the decision in his post-race interview, he admitted on the team radio to Hamilton that the gamble did not pay dividends, adding: "Yeah Lewis, sorry it didn't work out.
"We did what we discussed in the morning, we took a risk. It didn't work. Let's discuss it between us in the office."
Having squandered the lead to Verstappen, Hamilton slipped down to fourth after being overtaken by second-placed Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Max Verstappen expressed his pride after a far from straightforward victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, where the Red Bull driver overcame the pursuit of Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton seemed set to push for his first victory of 2022 at Zandvoort on Sunday but was stifled by pitting decisions and safety car deployments.
A virtual safety car was deployed after AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda was forced to stop following tyre concerns, offering Verstappen a fortuitous pit stop when embroiled in a battle at the front with Hamilton.
Another safety car followed after Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas stopped citing engine concerns, with Verstappen again pitting – arguably a surprising decision that seemed to hand Hamilton the initiative.
But Verstappen roared back in typically aggressive fashion to overtake the seven-time world champion on the main straight of lap 61, before easing to victory ahead of George Russell in second.
That marked a 10th victory of the season for Verstappen, his joint-best return in a single year, while he became the first driver since James Hunt in 1975 and 1976 to win back-to-back F1 races at Zandvoort.
After delivering in front of a largely partisan crowd in the Netherlands, Verstappen credited Red Bull's decisions that ensured he held off Hamilton through the latter stages of the race.
"It was not a straightforward race but we had to push, of course with safety car, virtual safety car, making the right calls," he said on Sky Sports during his post-race interview.
"Always a bit of question mark but it worked out really well. Once we got back to the soft tyres we had great pace again."
Asked whether he harboured any doubts over decisions as Hamilton pressed on, Verstappen added: "We timed it really well out of that last corner into the banking.
"You could see the draft was quite strong and we got ahead. It's incredible to win again.
"It's always special to win your home GP. This year I had to work for it even more. An incredible weekend and I'm really happy we got the Dutch GP."
Charles Leclerc started second on the grid after being edged out by Verstappen in Saturday's qualifying session, though the Ferrari driver had to settle for third on race day despite promising early signs of pace.
The Monegasque racer may have finished on the podium but sits 109 points behind championship leader Verstappen, and Leclerc conceded the Red Bull driver was a class above at the Dutch Grand Prix.
"To be honest, it was difficult to do much better," Leclerc said. "We were a little unlucky with the [virtual safety car]. I don't know if this would have changed anything – Max was too quick today.
"Then there was Mercedes, which were flying on the hard tyres. We struggled to find the feeling on the hard tyres, so we'll analyse that."
Max Verstappen held off a spirited push from Lewis Hamilton to secure a second consecutive Dutch Grand Prix victory and extend his championship lead to 109 points.
The reigning Formula One champion edged out Charles Leclerc in qualifying to put himself in pole position ahead of Sunday's eventful race, where George Russell finished second and Charles Leclerc took third. Hamilton eventually faded to fourth.
AlphiTauri's Yuki Tsunoda and Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas both stopped midway through the race, with Verstappen's pit stop after the second safety car allowing Hamilton to take the lead.
Yet Verstappen recovered and regained the lead by going past Hamilton down the main straight on lap 61 to claim a fourth consecutive victory and 10th of the season, his joint-best return in a single year after also hitting double figures last year.
The top five retained their positions during an eventful start where Hamilton and Carlos Sainz touched cars through turn one, while Haas' Kevin Magnussen slipped off the track and hit the barrier.
Verstappen continued to keep Leclerc at bay through the opening 10 laps, responding to the Ferrari driver's early signs of pace by pressing forward to move out of DRS range.
A problematic pit stop for Sainz in which no rear-left tyre appeared available saw the Ferrari drop from third to 11th on lap 15, with Hamilton displacing the Spaniard as Verstappen stretched his lead over Leclerc.
Sainz recovered into sixth as Verstappen pitted for the first time on lap 19, with Hamilton – still winless in 2022 – taking the lead as Mercedes ran a one-two with Russell in second.
Verstappen roared back before a pit stop for Hamilton, who then got the better of Sergio Perez as the Mexican aimed to protect his Red Bull team-mate's lead.
A virtual safety car deployed after issues for Tsunoda offered a glorious chance to pit on lap 48 for Verstappen, who led Hamilton by almost 16 seconds with 23 laps to go after the Mercedes driver pitted.
Verstappen squandered his advantage by pitting after another safety car deployment, but he recovered to surge back into the lead with 11 laps to go to race to victory.
Russell and Hamilton almost collided as the former looked to overtake into second, with the seven-time world champion slipping down to fourth after Leclerc eased past him.
Francesco Bagnaia claimed a dramatic victory at the San Marino Grand Prix after holding off future team-mate Enea Bastianini in Misano.
The 14th race of the MotoGP World Championship went right down to the wire between the two Italians, who will team up at Ducati for the 2023 season.
But despite intense pressure from his compatriot over the final few laps, Bagnaia held his nerve to prevail by a mere 0.034 seconds.
In closing the gap on championship leader Fabio Quartararo, who finished fifth, to 30 points Bagnaia becomes the first Ducati rider to win four successive races.
Maverick Vinales completed the podium, while Andrea Dovizioso finished 12th in the final race of his MotoGP career.
Following a three-place grid penalty in qualifying, Bagnaia started in P5 with Jack Miller having ensured his first pole in four years.
However, the Australian fell in just the second lap after slipping at turn four, while Marco Bezzecchi followed a few turns later.
Bagnaia first led in lap three with Bastianini, Vinales and Luca Marini for company, and Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro further back.
As Marini fell away, a couple of untidy corners saw Vinales also lose ground with eight laps to go; setting up a straight race between Bagnaia and Bastianini for the chequered flag.
Though Bastianini gradually closed the gap over the final four laps, he missed a couple of opportunities to pass as a stubborn Bagnaia held out to maintain his winning streak by the finest of margins.
"I struggled at the start because the grip was not so high," he said. "I was struggling to find some traction. But my feeling with the tyres was getting better lap by lap.
"In the last laps, I was trying to push to open a gap, but Enea was too fast. I'm very happy to win today. It wasn't the best start from P5, but we did it."
TOP 10
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) +0.034
3. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +4.212
4. Luca Marini (Ducati) +5.283
5. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +5.771
6. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +10.230
7. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +12.496
8. Brad Binder (KTM) +14.661
9. Jorge Martin (Ducati) +17.732
10. Alex Marquez (Honda) +21.986
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Riders
1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) - 211
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) - 181
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) - 178
4. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) - 138
5. Johann Zarco (Ducati) - 125
Teams
1. Ducati - 279
2. Aprilia Racing - 253
3. Monster Energy Yamaha - 226
4. Pramac Racing - 212
5. Red Bull KTM - 192
Paul McGinley says it "breaks my heart" to see a number of his close friends and former Ryder Cup team-mates join the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series.
Golf has been divided over the past six months by the arrival of the Saudi-backed breakaway, which has seen a number of high-profile names defect from the PGA Tour.
Six more players were announced by LIV Golf this week, including reigning Open champion Cameron Smith, ahead of the series' latest big-money event in Boston.
The PGA Tour has banned those competing in LIV Golf from taking part in any of their competitions, though that is subject to another legal challenge.
The DP World Tour was unsuccessful in doing so, meanwhile, and 18 LIV players will compete in the PGA Championship at Wentworth next week.
That includes the likes of Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter, each of whom McGinley has previously teamed up with for Ryder Cup duty.
McGinley finds the rift difficult to accept and claims that no player on the DP World Tour wants the LIV golfers involved at Wentworth.
"It breaks my heart because I have an emotional connection with every one of those players," he told The Sunday Times.
"I will see Poulter and I'll shake his hand at Wentworth, the same with Westwood and all of those guys that I shared team rooms with. That bond will never be broken.
"But we're definitely on different sides now. And it's really sad that it has come to this. Every one of those players knew the consequences when they signed with LIV.
"They also knew there was the potential for the Ryder Cup to be collateral damage in all of this. They still think they can play in the Ryder Cup.
"Who knows what's going to happen in six months' time? I think, at this stage, it's highly unlikely that any of them will be involved in the Ryder Cup again.
"If this is how it pans out, it won't be because of [DP World Tour chief executive] Keith Pelley or the board say so.
"It's because our members, the players who have remained loyal to our tour, don't want the LIV guys anywhere near the Ryder Cup.
"The feeling is that you cannot play [for] both sides. Mo Salah doesn't get to play for Liverpool one week and Real Madrid the next. LIV is a rival tour."
James Slipper wants Australia to "hurt" after they were consigned to a 24-8 Rugby Championship defeat by South Africa.
The Springboks overpowered the Wallabies at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, outscoring them by four tries to one.
Debutant Canan Moodie, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi and Franco Mostert crossed as the world champions joined Australia and Argentina on nine points, one behind leaders New Zealand.
Slipper, captain in the absence of Michael Hooper, says Dave Rennie's side should be feeling the pain after they were well beaten in Sydney.
He said: "I want the boys to hurt. Yes, South Africa were good, but I felt like we didn't play much rugby at all.
"We wanted to review last week and be a better rugby team. At no stage should we think we're the finished product.
"Individually we need to look at ourselves. I'm confident we're tracking in the right direction. We just need a bit more polish. We need to execute under pressure."
Australia's next assignment is a Bledisloe Cup opener against the All Blacks on September 15 and Slipper expects them to come back stronger after their hopes of winning the competition took a blow.
"It's tough when you're walking off the field after a loss, but we've got a lot of confidence in the group that we have," he said.
"We're after consistency and that's the big driver for us and when we start seeing that I feel that we'll see success coming our way."
Victory for the Springboks was their first in Australia for nine years and left the battle for the title wide open.
Tyson Fury declared "never say never" about joining WWE after playing a starring role at Clash at the Castle in the Cardiff.
The 34-year-old featured at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, joining in the headline clash between champion Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre.
Fury left his front-row seat in Cardiff when Austin Theory attempted to cash in his 'money in the bank' contract before downing the 25-year-old.
Reigns emerged victorious by pinning McIntyre before the pair were greeted in the ring by Fury, who treated the crowd to a rendition of Don McLean's 'American Pie'.
While Fury waits for a heavyweight unification clash against Oleksandr Usyk, he refused to rule out moving to WWE after his boxing career comes to an end.
"At the moment I'm a heavyweight world champion, and I have plenty of fights I have to take care of over the next few years," Fury responded when asked about the prospect of joining WWE.
"But I really, really have a passion for WWE. Never say never."
"Usyk was calling me out after his last fight with [Anthony] Joshua, I've replied and said let's do the fight this year, wherever they want to do it," Fury said.
"I've been waiting for offers from countries to come forward, and all of a sudden Usyk has stated he doesn't want to fight anymore, he wants to fight next year, not this year.
"So I'm not going to wait around for anybody, I'm announcing a fight next week."
Victoria Azarenka says vulnerable young female tennis players are "getting taken advantage of" as she called for improved safeguarding in the sport.
The Belarusian, who sits on an eight-person WTA players council, was speaking after Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro accused her former coach Pierre Bouteyre of rape and sexual assault.
Bouteyre strongly denied the allegations, with his lawyer telling AFP that he "recognises the relationship occurred but denies any coercion."
Speaking after her US Open victory over Petra Martic, Azarenka called for increased protection and says she would have a "very big concern" if she had a daughter who wanted to play professional tennis.
"It's a very sensitive subject because you won't hear those stories unless players come out and tell those stories," Azarenka said. "It happens right and left on the tour, which is unfortunate.
"Our job is to be better at safeguarding. As player council, it's almost like the number one subject to us. Because we see those vulnerable young ladies getting taken advantage of in different situations.
"It's really sad and really makes me emotional because I have a son [and] I don't see that happening so much on the men's tour.
"If I had a daughter, I would have to question would she want to play tennis, that would be a very big concern in that way for me.
"[The] recent story with Fiona Ferro that came out. I don't know how to put it in words sometimes. All you can do is check in on the person and kind of give your hand what I can do, what I can help with.
"I applaud her for being brave. I hope this situation she's gonna come out of it stronger and tennis is not ruined for her because of that. That's I think [a] very, very heavy topic.
"But it's the topic that has to come out more, and I think it's [journalists'] job also to not expose it. It sounds pretty weird when I say that, but do the research, help people to open up more.
"It's hopefully one by one [as we] try to eliminate that type of situation."
Zhang Shuai went winless in her first 14 appearances at major tournaments but has turned her fortunes around as she prepares for a US Open fourth-round clash with Coco Gauff.
The Chinese tennis player was said to be considering retirement in 2015 after 14 unsuccessful attempts at grand slams, though was convinced to keep fighting by friend and fellow competitor Sam Stosur.
Simona Halep at the 2016 Australian Open was the first scalp Zhang claimed at a major before she went on to reach the quarter-finals.
The 33-year-old, who has two grand slams titles in doubles with Stosur, has not looked back from that win over Halep and has made it to the second week at all four majors in 2022.
"This year, I already have three third rounds," Zhang said after her third-round win at the US Open. "Oh my god, I won six matches! Before I couldn't win one match in many, many years. How happy!
"That's why when we meet some players who want to stop or feels sad after the match, I always tell them next match, see how you are better.
"When I started the tour, how bad [were my] results? No one was worse than me. [These girls are] much better than me, right? You guys are still young. Keep trying."
Gauff awaits Zhang in the round-of-16 as the latter searches for a maiden major success and fourth singles title.
Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease lost his no-hitter bid on the last out as his side won 13-0 over the Minnesota Twins in the MLB on Saturday.
Cease enjoyed his longest no-hit bid of his career, and had two outs in the ninth inning before it was spoiled by a Luis Arraez line-drive single into right-center.
It was a cruel ending for Cease who had allowed only two base runners with walks, with seven strikeouts up until that point.
Cease became the second pitcher this season to fall one out short from a no-hitter, after St Louis Cardinals' Miles Mikolas in June.
The White Sox right-hander is the third pitcher to fall one short over the last five seasons. It would have been Chicago's third no-hitter of the last two years.
Cease instead settled for a career-first shutout, striking out Kyle Garlick shortly after Arraez spoiled his party.
Judge homers again as Yankees lose once more
Aaron Judge remains on track for 63 home runs this season after blasting his 52nd of the season in the New York Yankees' 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Judge's solo home run came in the ninth inning after the Yankees had gone 21 innings without scoring, with another defeat leaving them with a 15-26 record since the All-Star break.
Yandy Diaz came up with the decisive two-run single in the third inning while Corey Kluber allowed only two hits and no runs with four strikeouts across seven innings.
Riley keeps up streak as Braves walk it off
Austin Riley homered in the fourth consecutive game as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Miami Marlins in a 2-1 walk-off win. Riley also continued his 10-game on-base streak and seven-game hitting streak.
Riley hammered a line-drive blast left in the fourth inning to put the Braves up 1-0 but the Marlins would square it up in the ninth inning before a remarkable finale.
With bases loaded, Robbie Grossman provided the finish with a walk-off walk from Marlins closer Steven Okert.
World number one Iga Swiatek says she reminds herself that it is impossible to continually play at the level she achieved during her 37-match winning run earlier this year.
Swiatek reached the second week at the US Open for only the second time after Saturday's 6-3 6-4 win over Lauren Davis and has moved into title favouritism, creating a level of perceived pressure.
That comes amid a run of form where the 2020 and 2022 French Open champion has been far from the levels achieved during her 37-match winning streak which ended in July at the hands of Alize Cornet at Wimbledon.
Since then, Swiatek has only won seven of 10 matches. Swiatek's victory over Davis marked the first time since the winning streak that she has managed three straight victories.
The Pole's hard-court form line has not been compelling either but the exit of Serena Williams along with top seeds Anett Kontaveit, Maria Sakkari, Paula Badosa and Simona Halep has thrust her into US Open favouritism.
But the 21-year-old is trying not to put any extra pressure on herself with that in mind, nor re-discovering the form she displayed earlier in the year.
"Honestly I didn't even focus on that cause I still remember how it is to lose," Swiatek told reporters. "After the tournament in Cincinnati [when she lost to Madison Keys in August], I knew like it's not the end of the world that I'm losing in third round.
"It's not like the whole universe changed so right now I'm always going to be in quarter-finals or finals or whatever, win tournaments. I tried just to remind myself that it's kind of normal, that it's impossible to play always on the same level.
"Here I just took it match by match. I wasn't expecting maybe too much because of the losses, so that's good. It's not like I lost confidence or something. I still know anything can happen on these tournaments."
Swiatek admitted she lacked rhythm against Davis, who had led 4-1 in the second set, before the Pole fought back to win the final five games.
The 21-year-old won 21 of the final 25 points of the match, securing her 53rd victory of the 2022 season, closing in on Ash Barty's 57 from 2019.
"It wasn't as smooth as in first and second round," Swiatek said. "I'm pretty happy I made it through and could close it in second set and come back. That was pretty important for me.
"For sure she played totally differently than most of the players, which threw me a little bit off the rhythm. But I'm happy I was fighting till the end."
Rafael Nadal says his third-round win over Richard Gasquet was his best of this year's US Open as he works his way back after the abdominal tear that ended his Wimbledon campaign.
Prior to the US Open, Nadal had only played once since withdrawing from the Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios in early July, losing to Borna Coric in Cincinnati.
The second seed got past Rinky Hijikata and Fabio Fognini in four sets in the first two rounds at Flushing Meadows before Saturday's 6-0 6-1 7-5 win over French veteran Richard Gasquet in two hours and 17 minutes.
"My best match in the tournament," Nadal told reporters. "Easy to say that because the other day was tough.
"But important improvement. But I need to keep going. It's a good victory for me. Straight sets for the first time. Third set had been a challenge. He increased the level.
"I went through some difficult moments. That's something that is good that I went through that and saved that moments with a positive feelings. Happy to be in the fourth round, without a doubt."
The victory over Gasquet meant he has progressed to the second week at Flushing Meadows for the 12th time in his career, although he conceded he would need to lift his level to take out the title, starting with Monday's fourth-round match with 22nd seed Frances Tiafoe.
Nadal is gunning for his third major title this calendar year in New York, having triumphed at the Australian Open and French Open.
The 36-year-old's Australian Open success in February came after minimal preparation due to a foot injury, similar to his US Open lead-up due to the abdominal issue.
"I think I played better in Australia than here going to the second week," Nadal said. "But I have zero background in terms of victories and all this stuff.
"Here I played little bit worse than in Australia, without a doubt. But the story of the year and the results on the slams have been incredible, so that helps.
"I don't know the balance, what's better or worse. But all these victories help to be a little bit more confident. It's a moment to increase, to making a step forward."
"Second week against a great player like Frances, I need to be ready to play and to raise my level. I hope to be able to make that happen.
"I know is the right moment to make an improvement if I want to keep having chances to keep going on the tournament."
Top seed Iga Swiatek reached the US Open fourth round for the second time in her career after reeling off the final five games to beat Lauren Davis on Saturday.
The two-time French Open champion, who enjoyed a 37-match winning streak earlier this year, defeated Davis 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 57 minutes.
Swiatek had trailed 3-0 in the second lap but fought back emphatically to seal her passage into the last 16 where she will face either Jule Niemeier or Zheng Qinwen.
The attention in the women's singles has firmly turned to Swiatek, with Serena Williams eliminated along with the second, third and fourth seeds.
The Pole did not disappoint, hitting 25 winners and six aces, albeit with 38 unforced errors and an apparent lack of rhythm.
Swiatek wrapped up the first set in 59 minutes but world number 105 Davis offered a tougher test in the second after breaking in the second game.
The highly favoured Swiatek had to work out to avoid a 4-0 deficit, holding her serve in a 16-point game, but she showed she was back breaking Davis to love to make it 3-4.
Swiatek won 21 of the last 25 points of the match to book her spot in the second week in New York for the second straight year.
Data Slam: Swiatek finding her hard-court groove
The win improved Swiatek's 2022 tally to 53 matches but it also moved her a step closer to becoming the first player since Serena Williams in 2014 to win seven titles in a single year.
Swiatek has not quite reached the same dizzying levels lately since her 37-match winning streak, which was halted in the third round at Wimbledon, with this victory being only her fifth from eight during the hard-court season.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Swiatek – 25/38
Davis – 12/34
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek – 6/3
Davis – 0/6
BREAK POINTS WON
Swiatek – 3/14
Davis – 1/3
Second seed Rafael Nadal continued his staggering head-to-head domination of Richard Gasquet as he cruised into the fourth round at the US Open with a straight-sets victory on Saturday.
The 22-time major winner was irrepressible across the first two sets before Gasquet rallied in the third, but Nadal triumphed 6-0 6-1 7-5 in two hours and 17 minutes.
The victory means the 2022 Australian Open and French Open champion will face 22nd seed Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round and improves his head-to-head record against Gasquet to 18-0.
Nadal, who had been shaky early against Fabio Fognini last round, was ruthless when it mattered, hitting 35 winners for the match and winning 78 per cent on his first serve.
After dropping the opening sets in his previous two matches against Fognini and Rinky Hijikata, Nadal responded with a flawless first frame that included converting three of six break points.
Gasquet's belief seemed completely gone in the second set, managing no winners, with Nadal in control. The Frenchman ended Nadal's nine-game winning run to loud applause, raising his arms in celebration and probable relief.
Nadal broke early in the third but Gasquet responded to break back, pushing hard in the third set. But the Spaniard's quality shone highlighted by his finesse with a lob helping him claim the decisive break in the 11th game.
Data Slam: Rafa's longevity on show
Saturday's win was Nadal's 30th at night at Arthur Ashe Stadium and took his tally to 22-0 at majors this year, having only withdrawn from Wimbledon due to an abdominal injury. The triumph also saw him progress to the second week at Flushing Meadows for the 12th time in his decorated career, that includes four US Open titles.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 35/23
Gasquet – 19/29
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 2/8
Gasquet – 1/7
BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 7/15
Gasquet – 1/7
Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson stormed up the leaderboard in the second round of LIV Golf Boston but Talor Gooch remains on top one stroke ahead of tour newcomer Joaquin Niemann.
Johnson responded from his opening-day 67 with a seven-under-par round of 63 to move within two strokes of the lead on Saturday at The Oaks.
The 38-year-old American's stand-out day included eight birdies and an eagle on the par-five eighth hole, along with three birdies. Johnson had claimed the outright lead with three holes to play before Gooch regained it.
Gooch, who shared the lead with Matthew Wolff after the first day on Friday, remains on top at 12-under, with Niemann one shot behind and Johnson's round moving him up to 10-under.
Wolff slipped four strokes off the pace after carding 69 for the day, while tour newcomer Cameron Smith also dropped back with a one-under-par round of 69.
Anirban Lahiri is outright fourth at nine-under, with Jason Kokrak carding a five-under-par 65 to move into equal fifth with Bernd Wiesberger and Wolff at eight-under overall.
Johnson's surge along with Gooch's excellent two days means Four Aces GC are top of the standings in the team element at 22-under.
Hy Flyers GC, captained by Phil Mickelson, are second at 19-under led by Wiesberger and Wolff. Mickelson is back at three-over overall ahead of Sunday's final round.
George Russell is targeting a rise through the grid in Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix to usurp Ferrari, who he feels will be focused on catching Max Verstappen in pole position.
Mercedes driver Russell qualified sixth in Saturday's session and will sit alongside Red Bull's Sergio Perez on the third row, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton ahead of him in fourth.
While Russell's season has not lived up to expectations he may have had after joining the team that had dominated F1 prior to Verstappen's 2021 championship success, he has a plan to capitalise on Ferrari's title focus on the opening lap as he believes the Dutchman will not be able to be caught.
That could open the door for Russell and Mercedes to strike a decisive blow, with the Briton also adding he is hoping for high temperatures to result in "as many stops as possible".
"I hope they [Ferrari] put all of their focus on Max because that may leave them vulnerable to be honest, because I think Max is just going to clear off into the distance," he said.
"I think we probably will have a faster car than Ferrari and Checo tomorrow. So, we've got to go for it.
"I hope it's as hot as possible, I hope it's as many stops as possible to give us that opportunity. Some teams did long runs this morning and the degradation seemed better than expected.
"It doesn't take a lot, a couple of degrees of track temperature can swing it one way or another, so as I said, I hope the sun comes out."
Hamilton is equally hopeful of a fight with Ferrari at Zandvoort, though he is not certain the car is ready to be able to compete with those ahead of him.
"We've closed the gap somehow on [a single] lap. I can't really understand why but anyways," he said.
"But I am hoping that that means we are closer and even closer in the race and if we are that would be fantastic.
"If we can fight these guys and have a battle with these three ahead of me, that would be an amazing experience."
Jack Miller claimed a long-awaited pole position and Aleix Espargaro was left "angry and disappointed" after he could only qualify in ninth at the San Marino Grand Prix.
Ducati rider Miller will start at the front of the grid for the first time in four years after he clocked a quickest lap of one minute and 31.889 seconds on a rainy Saturday in Misano.
Francesco Bagnaia was second-fastest - but will start in fifth after being handed a three-place grid penalty - and Enea Bastianini third, with MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo only eighth.
Espargaro, who trails Quartararo by 32 points, will begin Sunday's race in ninth place and says he was not prepared to take any risks in tricky conditions after a crash at Silverstone last month left him with a fractured heel.
Aprilia Racing's Espargaro knows he will have to take a more aggressive approach on race day.
He said: "My guys said, 'Fabio is [just] in front of you'. But I don't care. This is a very special GP. I want to finish on the podium because it's the home race of Aprilia."
The Spaniard added: "When I left pit lane I felt a mix of angry and disappointed. Because to ride in these conditions is very tricky, very dangerous,
"I touched a white line in the first lap and almost flew [off]. So I tried to focus and make no mistakes, go as fast as possible but without risk. And maybe I had to risk a little bit more because ninth place is not good.
"I didn't want to make a stupid mistake like I did in Silverstone, because there are still a lot of points, a lot of races, a lot of days in front of us. It's just qualifying.
"But obviously if it rains tomorrow, I will have to risk a bit more because you get the points, not today.
"I know that if I want to fight for the championship, I need to finish on the podium. So this is what I'm aiming for."
Andrea Dovizioso will start his final MotoGP race before retiring back in 18th.
PROVISIONAL GRID
1. Jack Miller (Ducati) 1:31.889
2. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) + 0.115
3. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.149
4. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) + 0.219
5..Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) + 0.115
6. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.270
7. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.327
8. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) + 0.347
9. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) + 0.678
10. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.876
Remco Evenepoel's lead at the Vuelta a Espana was cut on Saturday as reigning champion Primoz Roglic launched a late attack.
Roglic, who is hunting an unprecedented fourth consecutive Vuelta title, had been two minutes and 41 seconds behind Evenepoel heading into stage 14.
Yet with an attack up the final climb of Sierre de La Pandera, at the culmination of a 160-kilometre route, the Slovenian reduced the Belgian's advantage by almost a minute.
Eveneopel stays the favourite with seven stages remaining, but Roglic offered a timely reminder of his power heading into the final week.
It was not all doom and gloom for Evenepoel, who recovered to finish eighth and at least limit his losses.
"It wasn't my best day for sure, I didn't have the best legs, I couldn't accelerate when Roglic went," Evenepoel said.
"I'm still 1:49 ahead in GC, so nothing to really to panic about. I'll try to recover as much as possible and survive tomorrow."
Roglic came third, finishing behind two South Americans in the form of Miguel Angel Lopez and Richard Carapaz, who claimed his second stage win of this year's race.
The INEOS Grenadiers rider held on after being part of a 10-man breakaway, with his climbing prowess coming to the fore.
Carapaz the king of this mountain
Carapaz is the sixth rider to achieve a stage victory ending on La Pandera in La Vuelta, though the first from the Americas. The Ecuadorian is the second rider to have won two stages at this year's race, after Sam Bennett.
With five Grand Tour stage wins to his name, the 29-year-old is top of the charts among South American riders in that regard, too.
STAGE RESULT
1. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Greandiers) 4:09:27
2. Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Qazaqstan Team) +0:08
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) same time
4. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +0:27
5. Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Greandiers) +0:36
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 52:21:33
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +1:49
3. Enric Mas (Movistar) +2:43
Points Classification
1. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 267
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 96
3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 96
King of the Mountains
1. Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 40
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Greandiers) 26
3. Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 21
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