Talor Gooch Continues His Run Of Speaking Nonsense, Claims 54 Holes 'More Exciting' For Fans
Talor Gooch is a laid back, relatively quiet guy, but over the past few months he's made some statements that have left the entire golf world scratching its head. His latest bold statement involves LIV Golf's 54-hole format, and just how "exciting" it is.
Part of what makes LIV different than the PGA Tour and other professional circuits around the world is that tournaments are played across just 54 holes and feature no cut, meaning every player in the field is guaranteed a payday.
While the unique format makes LIV unique, it's also the biggest culprit as to why the circuit hasn't been recognized by the Official World Golf Raning (OWGR) system. Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson - two of the biggest stars on LIV - have recently suggested the circuit should move to 72 holes.
Gooch isn't on the same page, claiming 54 holes makes things more exciting for fans.
"How do we tailor a product and exciting event to the fans; and just my opinion through my experience of 54 holes, it just appears to be more exciting.," Gooch said on a media call ahead of the upcoming LIV events in Adelaide and Singapore. "Why is it not 108? We just decided to make that number the number, for what reason?"
Gooch sounds like a man who very much doesn't want to go back to playing 72 holes as he did for years on the PGA Tour. That's a fair stance to take, playing less golf and being paid more to do so is undoubtedly the largest appeal LIV has to offer, but his claim that 54 holes is simply "more exciting" for fans is about as random as it gets.
What is he basing that off of? The answer is nothing.
(Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
While Gooch's comments about LIV's format are strange, that's been par for the course for the American lately.
After not meeting any of the many eligibility requirements to compete in the 2024 Masters, Gooch sounded off about the year's first major based solely on the fact that he and a number of other LIV golfers weren't in the tournament field.
A total of 13 LIV players teed it up at Augusta National, but that wasn't enough for Gooch, therefore he took aim at the prospect of Rory McIlroy winning the green jacket.
"If Rory McIlroy goes and completes his [Career] Grand Slam without some of the best players in the world, there’s just going to be an asterisk. 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," Gooch told Golf Digest Australia.
Talor Gooch is golf's hot take machine that keeps on giving.