LIV Golfer aims dig at Rory McIlroy following Masters snub
One of LIV's most prominent stars has taken aim at Rory McIlroy with a bold claim about The Masters.
LIV's 2023 individual champion, Talor Gooch, has voiced his disappointment at being snubbed from The Masters and has taken aim at Rory McIlroy in the process.
Gooch has been arguably one of the best golfers in the world in the last 12 months, but sadly, due to LIV's lack of eligibility for Official World Golf Ranking points, he has seen his position in the slip to 427th.
His resulting position left him with two options if he wanted to compete at The Masters. Either chase points on an alternative Tour to move up the rankings or receive an invite from the tournament organisers.
Having decided against chasing points, Gooch's last hope was an invite, but sadly, the iconic envelope never landed in his post box.
Clearly disappointed by the decision, Gooch vented his frustrations in an interview with Golf Digest Australia, in which he also made an audacious claim about the tournament's credibility.
He said:
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Talor Gooch has said via Australian Golf Digest that if Rory McIlroy completes the career Grand Slam, it will have an asterisk as not all the best players in the world have competed against him pic.twitter.com/alLgiCEMBy
— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) February 27, 2024
While Gooch missed out on an invite, Chilean Joaquin Niemann did receive one, following his win at the Australian Open.
Gooch went on to cite Niemann's inclusion as providing hope that one day, the decision-makers at Augusta National may look more favourably upon LIV golfers in the future.
He added:
Gooch's frustration with the OWGR is shared by several other players on the Saudi circuit, with Dustin Johnson also calling into question the validity of the rankings in a recent interview.
He said:
LIV's CEO Greg Norman also recently took aim at the rankings, claiming that they were now 'laughable'.
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Johnny joined GolfMagic as Reviews Editor in 2023 having worked for Sports Impact for two years as Head of Social Media, working alongside prominent golf brands including Galvin Green, Motocaddy and Wilson.
