Jon Rahm believes Talor Gooch "should be under consideration" for major invites

Jon Rahm believes both Augusta National and the PGA of America have done the right thing by offering Joaquin Niemann invites into The Masters and US PGA this season, but that Talor Gooch "should be under consideration" too. 

Rahm spoke at length with reporters on a number of hot topics surrounding the LIV Golf League ahead of their fourth event of the season in Hong Kong this week. 

The Legion XIII skipper was joined by Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau.

Both Rahm and DeChambeau agreed Niemann was without question a top 10 player in the world in light of his Australian Open win at the end of 2023 followed by capturing two of the first three titles on LIV Golf in 2024 at Mayakoba and Jeddah. 

With LIV Golf League events remaining shut out of receiving any Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, Niemann finds himself down in 76th.

Despite being ineligible to compete in the majors based on his world ranking position, both Augusta National and the PGA of America have handed the red-hot Chilean invites to compete in The Masters and US PGA, and very few disagree with it. 

Related: Joaquin Niemann exclusively to GolfMagic ahead of LIV Golf Hong Kong

Earlier this week it was reported LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has now given up hope of the league ever receiving points, and they are no longer going to try to get them. 

Rahm said:

DeChambeau went further by saying the views of critics taking aim at their 54-hole structure can "go right out the window" because the MENA Tour is already getting OWGR points for playing 54 holes. 

Both Rahm and DeChambeau also agreed last year's LIV Golf Individual champion Talor Gooch "should be under consideration" for invites into both The Masters and US PGA, just as Niemann has been this season. 

As it stands, Gooch, who won three times on LIV Golf en route to landing the season-long individual race last season, will miss out on all of four majors in 2024 as a result of his lowly 476th position in the world.

Gooch ruffled plenty of feathers in the golf world last week when he claimed should Rory McIlroy complete the career grand slam at The Masters this April then it will need an asterisk beside it due to some of the best LIV Golf players not being eligible to compete. 

McIlroy went easy on him in his response, but he did dagger him with his final line.

Many view the reason why Gooch has not been included in the same breath as Niemann where major invites are concerned this season is due to him not making the effort to compete outside of the LIV Golf League in order to obtain OWGR points.

Niemann has done that by competing over on the DP World Tour at the back of last season, performing well in Dubai and then winning in Australia.

He also has competed on the Asian Tour, another circuit that hands out OWGR points. 

One six-time PGA Tour winner hit out at Gooch by saying: "What's he ever done?"

Rahm thinks more than enough. 

Scroll below to see how the full conversation went down between reporters, Rahm and DeChambeau on the topic of LIV Golf's bowing out of OWGR points and Gooch being under consideration for major invites...

Q. Everybody is going to want to ask, the letter that went out yesterday from Greg and the response that's been out there from some of the other players in the U.S., just your thoughts really?

JON RAHM: I haven't talked to anybody about this or seen any responses, but I'm going to be honest, I didn't know they were still trying to get World Ranking points. But the one thing I can say is I'm going to back to what I said two years ago in the DP World Tour Championship.

I didn't think it was a good system back then, and if anything, the more time that goes on, the more it proves to be wrong. If anybody in this world, for example, doesn't think Joaco deserves to be in the top 10 or doesn't know that he's a top player in the world, I don't know what game you're watching.

We can tell. I think anybody who watches golf can tell who the best players in the world are, and obviously I don't think the ranking is reflective of that right now to its entirety.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of ways you can think about it. Certainly from certain people's perspectives, though, we came over here, and we don't deserve to have ranking points, for whatever their reasons are. Is it right? I don't know. I just think what's right is in the best interest of the game, and we should focus on having the best players at the majors, and continuing to have that around the game of golf is only important to growing the game of golf and to make the game of golf continue to be as relevant as it is now and even more in the future.

What I think about it is we need to find a collective way, all the governing bodies, everybody, come together, sit down and figure this out, because we need to do this for the fans.

Q. Do you think it's almost up to the players at this point to force the issue, seeing as nothing else seems to have worked at the moment?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: What do you mean by that?

Q. Well, I think --

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Which players?

Q. Well, you guys this side, some of the guys on the PGA TOUR. They were talking overnight saying that they didn't think that it was fit for purpose anymore. I didn't know whether you might bring more pressure to bear, whether that's something you would think about.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, but they should have done it a long time ago. If they wanted to make the system right, it should have been done a year and a half ago when we acquired the MENA Tour and we had that exemption category -- not exemption, but we had that category for them to get World Ranking points and we became part of that tour, and pretty much came into alignment there with being able to acquire OWGR points, and they didn't allow us to have that.

We've tried to fulfill every category, even going to 72 holes, too. The MENA Tour is already getting points, OWGR points for the MENA Tour, and they're 54 holes, so everybody's conversation on that can go right out the window.

The cut thing -- there's numerous things they brought up, and it's like, we can solve for all that, just tell us what to do, and nothing has gone -- anyway, it is what it is, and at this point we just need to figure out how to get all the governing bodies to come together and figure out what the best system is for the game of professional golf moving forward.

JON RAHM: Sorry, what was the question again?

Q. I was wondering whether it was a case of you --

JON RAHM: Oh, the players.

Q. Yes.

JON RAHM: I haven't given it that much thought, to be honest. But our job shouldn't be to make the rules or impose the rules or enforce the rules. We're here to entertain, and it's the governing bodies' job to be doing this and be adaptable to the changing environment. That's I think the best way I can explain it.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: That's well said.

Q. The majors to be recognizing good golf no matter where it's played and wanting to get the best players playing in those tournaments. Are you encouraged by that, and is that the way forward, all the best players playing in the majors at least?

JON RAHM: I mean, isn't that what we all want to see? Yeah, it's very encouraging. I'm very happy to see Joaco get invites. To be fair, he's shown the interest of wanting to qualify many different ways and has played the way you're supposed to play, so I think it's only right that he gets invites.

But if that's the way you're going to go, I think there's one player that played fantastic all last season that's been a little bit left out, and not saying that they all have to, but I think Talor Gooch should be under consideration to possibly get an invite into those majors, as well. He was the best player out here last year, and if that doesn't show good golf and being worthy of being in majors, I don't know what does.

While we don't have a clear path to majors through LIV yet, I think they should be taking everybody under consideration.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I agree with everything he said. I don't know what else to say. I mean, yeah. There just needs to be a clear path through LIV in some capacity.

I understand the sentiment. I respect the sentiment that everybody has on the other side of the coin. What I can say, though, is that if we put everything aside, all the bantering back and forth, the most important thing is the fans, and engaging the fans in a way that only helps enhance the experience amongst the game of golf around the world and even in the States, and whatever that answer is, we need to come to it pretty quickly because we don't want to continue to go down the path that we are currently.

Q. Do you think this could be a kind of watershed moment because with players playing great golf having to rely on, if you like, handouts from majors to get places in majors, the majors are recognizing that the rankings aren't right?

JON RAHM: I think it's the beginning of a positive thing, that they're now giving one player a chance. Before you know it, there will be a solution to all this. It's just opening the door slightly to a larger conversation.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: If you think about our points list and you just invite a certain amount on our points list based on how we finished the year before. That's what they do in the TOUR Championship, right? Very simple.

What do you make of Rahm and DeChambeau's comments about all things LIV Golf where the OWGR and majors are concerned? Should Talor Gooch have been given invites to compete in the majors just like Joaquin Niemann? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels.

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