Gooch gripes, gets a spot in the PGA Championship

Talor Gooch isn’t exactly bubbly when he discusses major championships, but the LIV standout receives an invitation to play the PGA. MB Media, Getty Images

Talor Gooch isn’t willing to try to qualify for major championships, but if there is a spot being offered, Gooch is happy to accept it.

Whether it’s because of Gooch’s public moping, an olive branch attempt to bring the broken professional game a little closer or, more likely, because of those three LIV Golf victories last year, Gooch received a special invitation to the PGA Championship next week at Valhalla.

He’s not the only special invite into the season’s second major championship. Fellow LIV players Patrick Reed, Dean Burmester, Lucas Herbert, Adrian Meronk and David Puig also got spots in Kentucky, giving LIV 16 players in the field, the bulk of whom met one of the various qualifying criteria.

Because there is no LIV-specific qualification for the PGA Championship, Gooch was among the special invitations which are given annually depending on whom the PGA of America deems worthy.

It’s understandable to give LIV players spots because there is an abundance available at the PGA of America’s discretion. The PGA allots 20 spots to club pros but, unlike the Masters, which has an intentionally smaller field, there’s more room in the PGA Championship, which typically invites 30 players otherwise not qualified.

To have the strongest possible field, the PGA added Gooch and five others from LIV. It’s a temporary bridge over golf’s great divide, emphasis on temporary.

Gooch is in the crosshairs because of how he has reacted to being left out of the game’s biggest events because he didn’t qualify.

It’s understandable to feel disappointed when the majors are being played by others, but there is a meritocracy involved. That’s different than feeling entitled, which is how Gooch has come across.

Suggesting a McIlroy victory would warrant an asterisk, well, sometimes it’s better to keep your thoughts to yourself.

Of course, LIV Golf made plenty of promises – including major-championship eligibility – that have yet to come true. In the case of this PGA Championship, Gooch got what he wanted though it hasn’t landed well with everyone.

“They did what?” is how one tour player responded to the news Tuesday.

Another said Gooch was a topic of conversation at lunch, with the consensus being that if you complain enough maybe you can get what you want.

Perhaps a bit of background comes in handy here.

The long and the short of it: LIV Golf’s Patrick Reed (left) and Gooch will tee it up at Valhalla. Andy Lyons, Getty Images
Gooch made no secret of his disappointment at not being offered a spot in the Masters considering the way he played on LIV Golf last year, winning three individual titles and earning player of the year.

That may have earned Gooch millions, but it didn’t earn him world-ranking points. Unlike his LIV colleague Joaquín Niemann, who was invited because of how he played in other global events, Gooch felt snubbed.

That’s when he offered this special bit of insight before the Masters:

“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. I think everybody wins whenever the majors figure out a way to get the best players in the world there.”

No one argues the second point, that the major championships are best when all of the game’s best players are there.

Suggesting a McIlroy victory would warrant an asterisk, well, sometimes it’s better to keep your thoughts to yourself. This was one of those times, especially considering that Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Cam Smith and other LIV stars were at Augusta National.

The USGA offered one special exemption into the U.S. Open at Pinehurst next month. Tiger Woods got it, and if he wants to play another 10 U.S. Opens without having to go through qualifying, the USGA should say, Be our guest.

That’s the thing about the U.S. Open and the Open Championship: both offer open qualifying to anyone with a low enough handicap.

Gooch is a very good player, but the way the golf world is presently constructed, he hasn’t qualified for the majors. The PGA of America looked favorably on him, and Gooch is content to sit out the two Opens.

Two of Gooch’s Smash GC teammates, Jason Kokrak and Graeme McDowell, said they intend to try and qualify for both despite the various travel challenges, not to mention beating enough world-class players to earn a precious spot.

Sitting alongside Kokrak and McDowell when the question was asked, Gooch offered a shorter answer.

“I’m not,” he said.

Gooch is a very good player, but the way the golf world is presently constructed, he hasn’t qualified for the majors. The PGA of America looked favorably on him, and Gooch is content to sit out the two Opens.

He’s said to be sore about the USGA changing its qualifying rules before the 2023 U.S. Open, a tweak that kept him out of the field. The adjustment was in the wording about players who earned their way into the U.S. Open via qualifying for the Tour Championship, requiring them to be eligible when that event was played.

Gooch qualified for the 2022 Tour Championship but didn’t play because he joined LIV beforehand.

Recently, USGA CEO Mike Whan reiterated that the U.S. Open offers a pathway in, pointing out that approximately half of the spots are determined through qualifying.

No one likes where the professional game is today. It has been cleaved by money and entitlement, and putting the pieces back together doesn’t look any easier than it did a year ago.

The PGA of America saw fit to offer Gooch a spot at Valhalla.

Sometimes wishes do come true.