What do bull riding and golf have in common? Apparently nothing. But Talor Gooch, the LIV Golf 2023 Individual Champion, has found one. It’s the team aspect and the very novelty of that as well. Gooch, an early believer in team golf, has also become an early advocate of team bullriding.
The 2023 LIV Golf Player of the Year is a proud owner of the Oklahoma Wildcatters. But owning a team comes with a cost, quite literally. Gooch also had to shell out a huge percentage of his LIV Golf earnings to fund his newfound passion.
How much has Talor Gooch spent?
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Talor Gooch pocketed from LIV more than triple the money he earned in his entire PGA Tour career. From his 123 starts on the Tour, the Oklahoma native earned close to $10 million. Whereas only two seasons on the PIF-funded side have made Gooch $35.3 million richer. The 32-year-old, who recently became father to a newborn, saw this as a good opportunity to make more from what he earned.
The @PBR is expanding its team competition from 8 to 10 teams for their third season starting in July. The new teams are:
The New York Mavericks – owned by The Avenue Sports Fund, led by Marc Lasry
Oklahoma Wildcatters – owned by Talor Gooch’s FJS Ventures… pic.twitter.com/5ScRcQGHpm
— Sportico (@Sportico) February 23, 2024
“The main goal is how do we take advantage of all of this money that we’re able to make now and turn it into more. The seed money for these new ventures is directly related to how many birdies I’m able to make right now,” WSJ quoted Talor Gooch as saying. But the initial investment will surely weigh heavily on his pocket.
As per PBR, the bid for teams started at $20 million. That’s more than half the sum Gooch earned from LIV Golf. However, that’s just the bidding price; it’s not clear how much the Oklahoma-born star bought the franchise for. Neither PBR nor Talor Gooch’s FJS Ventures revealed the exact sum, but it could very well be north of $20 million.
For Gooch, the doors opened up after Oklahoma’s local bull riding team moved to Florida. The LIV golf pro latched on the chance to fill in that void. The result was his FJS Ventures floating the bull riding team of 12 professionals. What else do we know about Gooch’s newest venture?
What do we know about Oklahoma Wildcatters?
Interestingly, like LIV Golf, the Camping Series is a novel concept that brings a team aspect to a game known for its fierce individuality. Each team consists of 12 players—seven protected and five reserves. In every match, five from each team will face each other. The highest aggregate score will result in a victory for the team.
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So far, the lineup for Talor Gooch’s team has not been revealed. The event will start on July 12, 7.45 PM CT at the Paycom Center. The inaugural event, however, clashes with his golf schedule. Gooch will be in Spain teeing up at the LIV Golf Andalucia at that time.
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Owning a team is not uncommon for Golfers. Rory
McIlroy became a part of the Otro Capital Group that recently invested $200 million in the F1 team, Alpine. McIlroy is also a co-owner of his TGL team, Boston Common Golf. As is Tiger Woods a co-owner of his Jupiter Links Golf Club. Talor Gooch, however, took a different route in another niche sport.Read More: ‘Come Ahead of My Career’: $36M Exploits Take a Backseat as Talor Gooch Admits the Heartfelt Reason Behind His LIV Golf Switch