Taylor Gooch has received a special invitation from the PGA of America to compete in next week’s PGA Championship. Therefore, the history books will not see an asterisk next to his 2024 PGA Championship win.
All kidding aside, Gooch, the LIV Golf star who won three events on the Saudi-backed circuit, is scheduled to tee off at Valhalla Golf Club next week in his fifth consecutive PGA Championship appearance.
This is a surprising development considering the LIV star did little outside of LIV to earn points and qualify.
He has even said he won’t even try to qualify for the U.S. Open. Gooch has publicly stated his disdain for the Official World Golf Rankings, which rely heavily on LIV players’ ability to qualify for majors.
However, following the news, Gooch took to social media to express his gratitude.
“Looking forward to Valhalla next week!” Gooch wrote.
“Thank you for the invite @PGA. See you there, everyone.”
The 32-year-old hasn’t had much success on the PGA in his previous four starts. He missed out on Oak Hill a year ago and tied for 20th at Southern Hills in 2022. The previous year, Gooch tied for 41st when Phil Mickelson won at Kiawah Island. In 2020, he missed the weekend in his first PGA Championship appearance at TPC Harding Park.
Earlier this year, in February, Gooch came under fire for comments about Rory McIlroy’s chances of winning a career Grand Slam at Augusta National.
“If McIlroy does a Grand Slam without the best player in the world, he’ll just get an asterisk,” Gooch said.
“That’s just the reality. If the majors find a way to get the best players in the world, I think everyone wins.”
Since joining LIV Golf in 2022, Gooch and many other LIV players have criticized the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for not awarding points to players who compete in LIV Golf events.
“This decision to disqualify them is not political; it is entirely technical,” OWGR board chair Peter Dawson said in October.
“It is clear that LIV players are good enough to be ranked. They can be ranked fairly against the other 24 tours and the thousands of players trying to compete on that tour. I just don’t play the format.”
As a result, Mr. Gooch’s OWGR ranking has dropped significantly. But the PGA of America clearly sees value in adding him to its championship, which it boasts is “the greatest field in golf.”
He had not received an invitation from the United States Golf Association (USGA) to play in the next US Open.
But with Gooch joining the 2024 PGA Championship roster, 11 LIV golf players will be anchoring Gooch on the Valhalla grounds.
22-year-old LIV golfer David Puig also received an invitation from the PGA of America after winning twice on the Asian Tour in the past eight months. Puig also lost in Macau to John Catlin in a playoff.
The other nine LIV golfers who will be in the field for next week’s PGA Championship are:
- bryson dechambeau
- Tyrrell Hutton
- dustin johnson
- Martin Kaymer
- Brooks Koepka
- Phil Mickelson
- Joaquin Niemann
- Jon Rahm
- cameron smith
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
