In February, Talor Gooch commented that if Rory McIlroy were to win the 88th Masters and complete his Grand Slam without the inclusion of LIV Golf players, it could potentially taint the achievement. However, the Northern Irishman didn’t claim that glory, so the situation never arose. But the comment has come back to haunt Gooch as he reflects on his own season’s performance.

It would not be wrong to say that the 32-year-old has struggled immensely with his game in the 2024 season. Last year, he was the individual champion at LIV Golf. However, this season, Gooch has failed to win even once on the breakaway circuit, making him desperate for a win before LIV Golf Chicago and the team championship. Seeing it, the 3-time LIV Golf winner reflected on his 2024 season.

Talor Gooch weighs in on his 2024 season

Only LIV Golf Greenbrier stands before Talor Gooch moves to Chicago for the season-ending individual championship, where he would like to defend his title. However, in 2024, winning has been a challenge for the 32-year-old, let alone finishing runner-up. The only time Gooch was close to winning a tournament was at LIV Golf Las Vegas in February.

Since then, he has struggled to be with the winners and has only played in one major, the PGA Championship. Even at Valhalla, the 3-time LIV Golf winner finished T60. All in all, the game of golf has been anything but merciful to the Oklahoma native. And he accepted that in the recent press conference at LIV Golf Greenbrier. When Gooch was asked about his feelings about his game from last year, he said, “Last year golf was really easy. It’s a game that is very humbling at times, and this year it’s not been as easy, like I said.” 

However, with his coach, Boyd, Gooch has been working more on the range and sharpening his skills. Certainly, it worked out as the LIV pro took the solo lead at Old White after the opening round. Through the various sessions, Gooch was confident of concluding the season better than he started. He said, “We’ve been able to grind it out, and hopefully, we’ve caught on to something so we can finish off these last two tournaments before the team championship in a good way.” 

Will this hope give the result Gooch has been expecting? That will be known in only two more days. But in the 2024 season, Gooch was not the only one on his team struggling, Brooks Koepka joined Gooch on this topic as he tried to play better but failed miserably.

Not just Talor Gooch; his team captain also suffered in 2024

The 5-time major champion’s situation is not as dire as Talor Gooch’s. Yet when compared to the 2023 season, Brooks Koepka’s form has taken a hard hit. He won the PGA Championship and two LIV Golf events in 2023, but this season, Koepka won only once in the Saudi-backed league. Whereas in the majors, he was consistently out of the top spots, finishing T43 at the Open.

From being one of the best players in the world to being missing the from winning circle, Koepka’s season has been anything but disappointing. Even he said, “This year has not been great. This year has been actually very disappointing.” Furthermore, the 5-time major winner accepted that he had played horribly at the major and that his performance failed to meet his own expectations.

But he will have a chance, just like Talor Gooch, to finish strong in Greenbrier and conclude the season on a better note, possibly securing a spot inside the top 3. Will Gooch and Koepka return to form in Greenbrier? They surely do hope so!