Talor Gooch Won't Try To Qualify For U.S. Open After Whining About Not Being Exempt Into Major Championships

Talor Gooch has made it clear over the last year-plus that he believes he should be exempt into major championships. Golf's governing bodies do not agree with the LIV golfer's stance, and now Gooch has come to the decision to not even qualify for this year's U.S. Open.

Gooch, last year's LIV Golf Player of the Year, was ranked as a Top 35 player in the world prior to making his debut with LIV. Given that LIV Golf is not recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system, he's now plummeted all the way to No. 624 in the world.

Talor Gooch won't be trying to qualify for the 2024 U.S. Open. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

With his strong 2022 season on the PGA Tour, Gooch earned spots into the 2023 editions of the Masters and Open Championship while also receiving a special invite into the 2023 PGA Championship. Those three events served as vital opportunities for him to pick up OWGR points, but he missed the cut in two of the three events and finished T-34 in the Masters, which didn't exactly get the job done.

Fast-forward to the 2024 campaign, and Gooch hasn't been awarded the luxury of being in the field for any of the year's four major championships. As a result, he's made ridiculous claims that this year's majors deserve asterisks without him and other non-qualified LIV players in major fields.

Gooch's biggest gripe seems to be with the USGA, which runs the U.S. Open. The governing body tweaked its qualification criteria a year ago resulting in him missing out on last year's event at Los Angeles Country Club. He could have attempted to qualify for the tournament, but chose not to, and he's taking that same approach this year.

READ: Talor Gooch Continues His Run Of Speaking Nonsense, Claims 54 Holes 'More Exciting' For Fans

Ahead of this week's LIV Singapore event, Gooch and his teammates were asked about their plans for U.S. Open qualifying. Brooks Koepka is already exempt into the year's third major, but Jason Kokrak and Graeme McDowell explained their plans to qualify, before Gooch emphatically said "I'm not" trying to qualify.

Gooch skipping out on trying to qualify for the U.S. Open is by no means a surprising decision. He's solidified himself as being the anti-major championship criteria guy on LIV Golf. 

On the one hand, Gooch attempting to qualify and failing would open him up for even more criticism, but on the other, if he were to grind his way into the tournament like fellow LIV player Sergio Garcia did a year ago, it would prove those same critics he's still among the game's best talents.