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Has Talor Gooch Ever Won a Major? His Career on PGA Tour Explored

Published 02/27/2024, 2:57 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Talor Gooch might just be one of the unluckiest players on LIV Golf! Why? Well, despite a sensational 2023 to his name with 3 LIV Golf wins, he failed to obtain an invite to Augusta National Golf Club! And all of it because the Masters authorities gave more preference to OWGR. The golfer, however, did clarify his stance on the matter! What started as his love for the game over a decade ago, in 2014, went through hoops of challenges as well as victories in the past decade.

His position on the PGA Tour’s highlight events probes us to explore his time with the American golf flag-bearer. The 32-year-old stands at a crossroads in his career at the hands of the upcoming Masters Tournament, following his move to LIV Golf. Consequently, curiosity has led us to delve into his past with the majors before he defected.

Rewinding Talor Gooch’s time at the golf course’s most illustrious stages

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Sadly enough, the 2023 LIV Golf individual champion has never carded a win at any of the major tournaments. The closest the current LIV Golf sensation ever came to this dream of his was at the 2022 Masters Tournament, where he finished tied for the 14th position. Gooch’s other decent major finish was at the 2022 PGA Championship, where he finished tied for 20th.

His best finishes at the other two majors, that is, the US Open and the Open Championship, came in 2017 and 2021, where he was in 66th place and 33rd place, respectively. As it turns out, following the strict reliance on the OWGR for the issuance of their special invites and other qualification criteria, golf’s grandest stage will remain a far-fetched dream for Gooch yet!

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In the entirety of his almost decade-long career with the Tour, Gooch made 123 starts altogether. Out of which, he was able to make the cut for 80 events. With his tough luck, he could only register one win in his name. This came at the 2021 RSM Classic, wherein he finished with a score of 22 under par.

USA Today via Reuters

Further, during his PGA Tour career, he finished once in the third position, nine times in the top-5, and eleven times in the top-10. His total official earnings from the American Tour during his tenure were $9,250,299. This comes as an astounding figure since, in just 2023 alone, Gooch earned nearly $36 million from the Saudi-funded league.

Even after making considerable headway ever since the American golfer switched to the Saudi-backed league, the Majors’ curse seems to be an unshakeable reality in the course of his destiny. But what does Gooch have to say about this?

Talor Gooch’s opinion on not being invited to the 2024 Masters

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“It’s not surprising,” said Gooch when asked about the Masters decision to blatantly ignore him. Even after being LIV Golf’s top performer, his choice to defect has landed him in a difficult spot. The Majors’ persistence in viewing OWGR as the standard, coupled with Gooch’s position of 449 on the world ranking scale, made matters more difficult for the 1X PGAT winner.

The golfer holds a stern opinion on the matter and, as it turns out, has a bone to pick with the major authorities as well. “I think the majors have kind of shown that they’re not getting on board with LIV. Hopefully the day will turn when the majors decide to start rewarding good play on LIV. Hopefully, that’ll be sooner than later,” said Gooch.

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Talor Gooch has made his views crystal clear, but do you agree with his thoughts? Share your views in the comments below.

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Written by:

Daiemah Malik

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Daiemah Malik is a Senior Golf Writer at EssentiallySports. Thanks to many evenings on the course, driving and putting alongside her family, Daiemah is able to give her loyal readers a perspective of both a player and a writer. Her area of expertise is technical core sport pieces like analyzing golfers’ performances or predicting how weather will affect an event and those playing.
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Edited by:

Riya Singhal

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