Another major season awaits, and with it the same old bellyaching. The LIV ex-pats, tired of counting their millions and playing in front of hundreds, want dates to golf’s biggest dances and many are being left out in the cold yet again. That includes 2023 LIV Golf individual champ Talor Gooch, who voiced his frustrations with his 2024 Masters omission on Tuesday, saying:
In an interview with Australian Golf Digest, Talor Gooch voiced his displeasure after not receiving an invitation to this year's Masters. pic.twitter.com/REpP4gk2qZ
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) February 27, 2024
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Bold words, especially when you realize what Gooch really means is that the most hallowed event in all of golf—and maybe even sports—will be circumspect if Talor Gooch doesn’t play, as Barstool Sports’ Daniel Rapaport explains.
Think there are 12 LIV guys in the field at Augusta. Roughly 20% of LIV is in the Masters. So what Talor Gooch really means is there’d be an asterisk on Rory’s win because Talor Gooch isn’t in the field. https://t.co/nFZXqQYB5s
— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) February 27, 2024
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Golf Twitter isn’t exactly a hospitable place, even on a good hair day, but if you come at Augusta National Golf Club, you best not miss, especially if you made your bed on a pile of oil money and now no longer want to sleep in it. Their response to Gooch’s asterisk comment was swift and merciless, a tough-but-true rebuttal that made for hilarious scrolling on Tuesday afternoon. Read ’em and weep, Goochers.
@DataGolf took the analytical approach. Congratulations to newly Gooch-certified PGA Champion Brooks Koepka.
Going forward we will be adding Gooch certificates to our major championship past results pages.
e.g. Brooks' 2023 PGA win is certified by Gooch's +10 performance. pic.twitter.com/lbgzqAP1wA
— data golf (@DataGolf) February 27, 2024
As did @NoLayingUp …
Here's the top 50 in the @DataGolf rankings, with whoever is not currently eligible for the Masters in bold:
1. Scheffler
2. Schauffele
3. McIlroy
4. Rahm
5. Hovland
6. Cantlay
7. Morikawa
8. Fleetwood
9. Burns
10. Aberg
11. Hatton
12. Homa
13. Spieth
14. Poston
15. Thomas
16.…— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) February 27, 2024
While @KylePorterCBS pointed out the hypocrisy of the claim.
If this is the metric Gooch is using (and it would be the right one to use), then [checks notes] the PGA Tour (!!) has more top players excluded from the Masters than LIV does. https://t.co/OpElkoNzaM
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) February 27, 2024
@JamieCWeir pointed there is a potential path for LIV players into the Masters. Talor Gooch simply didn’t take it.
Joaquin Niemann felt frustrated he wasn’t in majors so in a bid to get in played the Australian PGA Champ, WON the Australian Open, the Dubai DC and just last week in Oman.
Talor Gooch has played one non-LIV tournament in a year: T42 in the Hong Kong Open.
Proactive v Passive
— Jamie Weir (@jamiecweir) February 27, 2024
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Some, however, we’re content to simply “take the p*ss” as our limey friends across the pond might say.
This is the funniest thing the internet will provide today. https://t.co/3SE1plkNcC
— Masters Burner (@ANGC_burner) February 27, 2024
The Board of Governors
of the
Augusta National Golf Club
cordially invites you
to check out the
newly redesigned green jacket pic.twitter.com/TVo1HAvSSj— claire rogers (@kclairerogers) February 27, 2024
Just realized we gotta put an asterisk next to the 1997 Masters win and the 2000 U.S. Open win because Talor Gooch wasn't in those fields either. Sorry, Tiger.
— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) February 27, 2024
Just remembered Talor Gooch showed up to Augusta National for Masters practice in shorts before being told, Buddy, this is Augusta National pic.twitter.com/1Yei7A9vn1
— Joel Beall (@JoelMBeall) February 27, 2024
@deepfriedegg even retweeted this classic.
Jason Kokrak and Talor Gooch, playing in their last Masters, get Sandy Lyle at 8:24 a.m. https://t.co/Vfm0QSdTy1
— deepfriedegg (@deep_fried_egg) April 4, 2023
Feel however you want to feel about this. Maybe you think LIV Golf players should get OWGR points just like the PGA Tour guys. Maybe you don’t. But we can all agree this was a cook sesh for the ages. Marinated overnight. 12 hours in the smoker. Put a fork in the kid. He’s done.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
