When Talor Gooch uttered his take to Australian Golf Digest on what it would mean for Rory McIlroy to complete a career grand slam at the 2024 Masters, he said it with his chest.
“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. It’s just the reality.”
What Gooch appeared to suggest was that if not all of the top LIV golfers - including himself - were teeing it up at Augusta National Golf Club in April, then any victory would not be as meaningful.
Well, it turns out that not many people agreed. There were some who do, of course, but most fans and journalists on social media were not having any of it. And, boy, did they let him know.
CBS' Kyle Porter drew attention to a couple of historic statement from Gooch in his X post.
Gooch is now the owner of three of the great golf takes of our generation. pic.twitter.com/jtWSNj9B9m pic.twitter.com/vBdyZpcbPLFebruary 27, 2024
Meanwhile, journalist Shane Bacon and X account Underdog__Golf made their respective jibes with tongue firmly in cheek.
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.February 27, 2024
best finish in a major:talor gooch - 14th*michael block - 15th*jake knapp was not in fieldFebruary 27, 2024
Last week, LIV's Joaquin Niemann was one of three players handed special invites to Augusta while, as things stand, Gooch - who was the 54-hole league's individual champion in 2023 - is set to miss out. Niemann's Masters inclusion took the total number of LIV players up to 12.
Barstool Sports' Dan Rapaport noted this and suggested that when Gooch said "some of the best players in the world" what he really meant was "Talor Gooch."
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/nFZXqQYB5sFebruary 27, 2024
Elsewhere, the No Laying Up podcast and data golf allowed some numbers to do the talking.
Here's the top 50 in the @DataGolf rankings, with whoever is not currently eligible for the Masters in bold: 1. Scheffler2. Schauffele3. McIlroy4. Rahm5. Hovland6. Cantlay7. Morikawa8. Fleetwood9. Burns10. Aberg11. Hatton12. Homa13. Spieth14. Poston15. Thomas16.…February 27, 2024
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/lbgzqAP1wAFebruary 27, 2024
Others just relied on good ol' fashioned humor...
The Board of Governors of the Augusta National Golf Club cordially invites you to check out the newly redesigned green jacket pic.twitter.com/TVo1HAvSSjFebruary 27, 2024
Whoever did this to Talor Gooch's Wikipedia page, I can't. 😂 pic.twitter.com/W2QnsC5kKeFebruary 27, 2024
Following some of the ribbing, Gooch himself began replying to a handful of sarcastic questions or comments on X.
A well-followed account called Masters Burner messaged the 2023 LIV individual champion asking if his dog's "best behaved" award at doggy daycare did in fact count due to "Cleo the Bernadoodle from Avon" not being in attendance.
Hey @TalorGooch:My dog just won “best behaved” at doggie day care today, but Cleo the Bernadoodle from Avon wasn’t there. Counts?February 27, 2024
Fair play to the pro golfer, but he did reply. Catch the thread below.
pic.twitter.com/QR30Ex4RupFebruary 27, 2024
Another golf fan, Jack Glaspy asked if his high-school JV championship victory counted as Gooch wasn't in the field there, to which the American responded.
I can validate that this sounds like something a person would say with a push cart lolFebruary 27, 2024
And replying to Rapaport's earlier message in a two-part response, Gooch said...
a path to majors through LIV? What if Puig and Surratt finish top10 and beat cam brooks Bryson this season, do fans benefit from not seeing them in majors? Lots of things the majors need to resolve for the fans/players. If you wanna know what I really mean^ Im always here to chatFebruary 27, 2024
