The PGA Tour will have a plethora of talent taking the course for the spring Masters Tournament. Most notably, Rory McIlroy will attempt to complete a Grand Slam with a win at the event. LIV Golf's Talor Gooch was omitted from the player field and gave his bold claim on a potential McIlroy win.
Would Talor Gooch have made the Masters if he was with the PGA Tour?
Augusta National Golf Club issued three special invites to the April Master's Tournament in mid-February. However, Talor Gooch was not among the recipients.
The 32-year-old won three of LIV Golf's 13 events in 2023. In addition, he finished second at LIV Golf Las Vegas 2024. Nevertheless, Gooch's world ranking has fallen to No. 427 as the Official World Ranking committee refuses to award points to LIV Golf tournaments, per insight from Austrian Golf Digest.
Thus, Gooch was likely not invited to the Masters due to his relatively low ranking. He was disappointed about missing the world-class competition and gave a bold take on what it would mean if PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy won the tournament.
“If Rory McIlroy goes and completes his Grand Slam without some of the best players in the world, there's just going to be an asterisk,” Gooch said, per Dan Rapaport (h/t NUCLR Golf).
Gooch continued. “It's just the reality. I think everybody wins whenever the majors figure out a way to get the best players in the world there.”
Dan Rapaport noted roughly 20% of LIV golfers will be in the Masters. Therefore, Gooch is implying he alone could potentially stop McIllory from completing his Grand Slam if given the chance.
Is Gooch's take valid? Golf fans will not have the answer in 2024 but perhaps the star can prove his point in a future competition.
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