Rory McIlroy Fails to Save Face as Talor Gooch Ignores His Newfound Love for LIV Golf

The speculations of Rory McIlroy’s $950M defection are growing stronger! Reason? His shocking acceptance and change of heart towards LIV Golf. But, are LIV golfers happy with this? We sure cannot say for all, but it seems Talor Gooch isn’t! The OWGR, and the Masters snub seems to have Talor Gooch disapproving of the system, and the Northern Irishman has seem to have found a place in his disapproval. Yes, you heard it right.

The 2023 LIV Golf individual champion has not been awarded a seat at this year’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National due to the OWGR’s persistence in following its reservations against awarding world ranking points to LIV Golfers for their performance on the breakaway league.

Talor Gooch has gone so far as to describe his and other LIV golfers position as “not surprising” on this matter. However, Gooch went on to question the achievements of players like McIlroy in the absence of some of the greatest talents at the hands of the OWGR’s stubbornness.

Gooch said while talking to Australian Golf Digest, “If Rory McIlroy goes and completes his [Career] Grand Slam without some of the best players in the world, there’s just going to be an asterisk. It’s just reality. I think everybody wins whenever the majors figure out a way to get the best players in the world there.”

Many other LIV golfers have admittedly offered similar advice to the major tournaments’ officials in the recent past: to form an alternative and not be completely dependent on OWGR for spotting the golf world’s talents. While the matter remains contentious, which LIV golfer has made it to Augusta National Golf Club, thanks to a great hack they spotted?

Which LIV golfer could secure a seat at the Masters Tournament?

This talented LIV golfer is Chile’s Joaquin Niemann. Niemann apparently took the international route to arrive at the Augusta National. Thanks to his win at the ISPS Handa Australian Open in December and an OWGR rank of 72, he was able to receive the special invitation first major tournament of the year.

Read More: After Making a Major PGA Tour Decision, Rory McIlroy Makes an Honest Confession About Getting Back on His Feet

Gooch’s opinion on this? Well, he thinks that “‘Jaco’ went outside of LIV and played some great golf, and they rewarded him for that. So hopefully the day will turn when the majors decide to start rewarding good play on LIV.” The world no. 449 also hoped that a day like this would come “sooner than later.” 

Following the current policy of using OWGR as a guiding point for extending invitations, the Masters Tournament also “snubbed” Dean Burmester (No. 95) and Louis Oosthuizen (No. 107) of the opportunity to compete despite their two wins at the DP World Tour towards the end of 2023.

Only time can tell whether the Majors will renew their outlook toward talented players on the other end of the golf world or not. For now, we know who will not be present at Augusta National in April: Talor Gooch.

Read More: Despite the Fate-Altering Scenarios, Will Rory McIlroy Be Able to Finally Shine in the Next 150 Days?