19th Hole
Report: PGA Tour pro says he wants to ‘punch Talor Gooch in the face’
Tensions are high in professional golf.
The LIV Golf players who have elected to leave the PGA TOUR have left many of their former colleagues steaming.
Alan Shipnuck, in his “Firepit Collective“, spoke with Talor Gooch recently. Shipnuck regards Gooch as “the face” of the PGA TOUR Vs. LIV. He also calls Gooch a “god-fearing country boy who is intelligent enough to have been his high school valedictorian”.
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The reason Gooch’s decision to leave the PGA TOUR was so highly scrutinized was because he didn’t fit the mold of the other players who had preceded him.
Prior to Gooch’s departure, the narrative surrounding LIV Golf was that it was a tour for washed up players with their best golf long behind them. Once Gooch decided to leave, the floodgates opened for younger players such as Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, and eventually the Champion Golfer of the Year Cameron Smith.
Gooch made things even more uncomfortable when he compared the atmosphere at LIV Portland to a Ryder Cup (which he’s never played in). The comments were joked about by plenty of PGA TOUR players and didn’t help the way Gooch was perceived.
Matters got worse when Gooch then decided to tee it up at Wentworth for the DP World Tour’s “flagship” event in search of Official World Golf Ranking Points. This drew criticism from players like Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jon Rahm and Billy Horschel. All of which had questions as to why Gooch should be able to play the event when he had never supported the DP World Tour throughout his career.
All of these factors have added up to make Gooch the face of all that is wrong with LIV Golf in the eyes of those who oppose the Saudi-backed series.
According to Shipnuck, one anonymous PGA TOUR player recently said,
“He always seemed like a nice guy, but now I just want to punch him in the face.”
Gooch is seemingly unbothered by the criticism thus far, saying to Shipnuck “It was funny. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”
After winning the BMW PGA at Wentworth, Shane Lowry exclaimed “another win for the good guys!”
After the Four Aces team victory at LIV Chicago, Gooch shot back.
Talor Gooch throwing shade at Lowry’s comments at Wentworth: “Another one for the good guys.”
This divide isn’t going away any time soon is it.
They need to strike while the iron is hot and get a PGA Tour v LIV match set up asap and get Netflix to film everything! ?? pic.twitter.com/LRjr32LJoV
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) September 19, 2022
With Gooch currently involved in a lawsuit against the PGA TOUR, I don’t expect cooler heads to prevail anytime soon.
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According to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, last week’s Open Championship suffered its lowest television rating in almost a decade.
NBC and Peacock drew 3.39M viewers on Sunday for Xander Schauffele’s two-shot win in @TheOpen, down 4% from last year and Brian Harman.
That’s the lowest number for the final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015, which finished on a Monday on ESPN (cable) pic.twitter.com/9r7guxnfx1
— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) July 23, 2024
The final round was down four percent from Brian Harman’s win in 2023 at Royal Liverpool, which offered very little drama down the stretch. It was the lowest-rated final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015 at St. Andrews: and that was a Monday finish.
Stars such as Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland all missed the cut, which may have contributed to the lack of interest from casual golf fans.
This year, the Masters and The Open have decreased in ratings while the PGA Championship and U.S. Open saw an uptick. It’s fair to speculate whether the inclusion of Bryson DeChambeau deep into contention had an impact.
More from the 19th Hole
- Shane Lowry says this prevalent criticism surrounding Rory McIlroy ‘makes his blood boil’
- Brandel Chamblee on why he feels Rory’s game ‘deteriorates in the biggest moments‘
- Tiger Woods aims brutal dig at Colin Montgomerie
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19th Hole
‘That looks brutal’ – First photo of Tiger Woods’ leg without sleeve shows depth of injury
It’s been a struggle of late for Tiger Woods on the golf course. The 15-time major champion has only teed it up five times in 2024, finishing 60th in The Masters and missing the cut in the other three majors. He also played in the Genesis Invitational and was forced to withdraw.
Woods has many ailments, but none as debilitating as his surgically repaired leg. Since his car accident three years ago, the 48-year-old has rarely been seen without wearing a leg sleeve. However, on Monday, a fan was able to take a photograph of Woods’ leg without the sleeve.
@blakebunkersgolf IG
??? #LOOK: A photo has emerged of Tiger Woods without his leg sleeve @TWlegion
(Via: blakebunkersgolf/IG) pic.twitter.com/ppaGLdXg8X
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024
The photo was taken at an event Tiger’s son, Charlie, was playing in by “blakebunkersgolf” on Instagram, and one of the top responses on X towards the photo was simply “That looks brutal.”
Woods has struggled with the lack of reps on the course but hasn’t given any indication as to whether his schedule will look any different come 2025.
More from the 19th Hole
- Shane Lowry says this prevalent criticism surrounding Rory McIlroy ‘makes his blood boil’
- Brandel Chamblee on why he feels Rory’s game ‘deteriorates in the biggest moments‘
- Tiger Woods aims brutal dig at Colin Montgomerie
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John Daly withdrew at last week’s Open Championship with a knee injury, but the 58-year-old was back on the links this week showcasing one of the most famous golf courses in the world for his fans.
While at Trump Turnberry, John Daly recorded a video of the 18th green.
In the video, the 1995 Open Champion shared his opinion that Turnberry is the best golf course in Scotland, even better than St. Andrews.
?????????? #BEST OF THE BEST — John Daly says Trump Turnberry beats out St Andrews for the title of best golf course in Scotland.
Do you agree?
(Via: @LGlick1) pic.twitter.com/Ya7FIJEfp2
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024
“Hey everybody, John Daly here. I’m at Trump Turnberry today. I went out and tried to play a little bit. This place is amazing. It is the best golf course in Scotland, I think. St. Andrews is my baby, but I think I just found my new baby. I’m at the 18th green right here, this thing is unreal.”
Turnberry hosted its first Open Championship in 1977, which was dubbed “The Duel in the Sun” when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by a single stroke. The most recent Open the course hosted was 2009, where Watson almost won again, but lost to Stewart Cink in a playoff.
The course is not slated to host any Open Championships in the foreseeable future.
More from the 19th Hole
- Shane Lowry says this prevalent criticism surrounding Rory McIlroy ‘makes his blood boil’
- Brandel Chamblee on why he feels Rory’s game ‘deteriorates in the biggest moments‘
- Tiger Woods aims brutal dig at Colin Montgomerie
New here?
While you’re here, check out BK’s look at Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB.
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