Talor Gooch enjoyed an excellent 2023 but was somewhat overlooked for his potential Ryder Cup spot. Photo: Getty Images/Octavio Passos
Talor Gooch has finally retracted his widely derided statement that «there's not much difference» between the LIV and the Ryder Cup and acknowledged that the choice of captain is at the forefront of his mind, despite the fact that Zach Johnson, captain of the United States, reiterates that he simply doesn't follow the Saudi-funded network.
Last summer, Justin Thomas joined the social media clutter when Gooch denounced the unique tensions in the biennial spat, announcing that «LIV's vibe was on point «The Ryder Cup couldn't be better.» But here in Hemel Hempstead, on the eve of the latest £21 million event, Gooch was more modest.
“Look, it was said in the heat of the moment,” Gooch said with a smirk. «My teammates and I just raised $750,000 (£590,000) each for winning the LIV Portland tag team event and it was one of the loudest crowds I've ever seen.»
But yes, yes, there is no doubt that we all dream of playing in the Ryder Cup and that it is different from the LIV. I won't say I regret it. I'll just note that I was «in the moment».
In truth, Gooch's thoughts are on the September game in Rome, where the United States will try for their first road win in 30 years. It's hard for a 31-year-old player to ignore this.
He could be 90th in the world rankings and 85th in the US standings, and only the top six are guaranteed to qualify, but after his game- After defeating Bryson DeChambeau in Spain on Sunday, surrounded by Ryder Cup legends praising his candidacy after being the first in a short but hugely important LIV history to take three crowns.
“This was Talor's third win out of the eight LIVs we played in 2023 where he beat some of the best players,” Ian Poulter said. «If Talor is not chosen [as one of Johnson's six jokers], it will be insane.»
Like everyone else, the veteran Englishman had read that Johnson was oblivious to action at the 54-hole league. Two months ago, Johnson insisted that it would be «irresponsible of me and highly inappropriate» to attend an LIV event, and admitted he didn't even know which US TV channel it was on. He's still not sure.
When Golfweek asked him last week if he was going to tune in to watch LIV action from the Costa del Sol, as it was on the CW network, he replied, «I didn’t know.”
< p>It looks like Gooch could also have received his $4m (£3.1m) winning vouchers on the Moon — during the satellite outage. But the Oklahoma man does not allow himself to think so. “Valderrama is a golf course where everyone knows not to pretend to be,” he said. “So I hope he brought it to his attention.
“It was a huge issue to discuss, but at the end of the day, it's the US versus Europe. Yesterday I was talking to one of my buddies, he said, «Did you hear anything from Zach?» I have no. But in the professional world of golf, players of our caliber… well, for lack of a better term, «the game recognizes the game.»
So what should Gooch do? “I told my buddy that there is nothing cooler than going out and beating Poulter, one of the great players in the Ryder Cup, here on Sunday. One can only hope that decision makers take everything into account and not just rule out one side because of everything that has happened.”
Ridiculous that Johnson didn't contact Gooch during his formidable run. The radio silence certainly caused bewilderment in the LIV locker room. Of course, Johnson spoke of the likelihood that Brooks Kepka, thanks to his USPGA victory, would make it to the top six: «Brooks is third on the list and has a really good chance of earning himself a place on the team, which is extremely impressive.» but otherwise he hardly encouraged the likes of Gooch, or even Dustin Johnson and DeChambeau. Johnson called the LIV players «technically fit» to compete in the Ryder Cup.
Gooch will play the Open at Hoylake in two weeks, the last major tournament of the season where, as a former champion, Johnson also competes. Gooch is adamant he won't call on him to credit him.
“The only vote I have is my grades,” Gooch said. “Nothing I say to Zach Johnson will change anything. I call this «Rule 67». Go ahead and shoot 67 and everything else will take care of itself.”
But what if he had won at Royal Liverpool? Surely that would make his case irrefutable? “Yes, it will,” Gooch said. “But all I could think about was that a month ago in Spain I was drinking from a Claret Jug with [2022 Open Champion] Cam Smith. And now I drink from my burgundy jug.”
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