Earlier this week, LIV Golf’s Talor Gooch found himself at the center of the golf world. Gooch made the absurd claim that Rory McIlroy would get an asterisk if he won the Masters in April and completed the Grand Slam.
He made the comment under the guise that McIlroy’s victory would be tainted by the absence of some of the best players in professional golf.
Let’s set aside for a moment how ridiculous and misguided that sentiment is considering that nearly all of LIV’s top golfers play at Augusta.
But Rocco Mediate didn’t take that approach.Instead, he went on the offensive On PGA Tour Radio.
“Everyone who is in the Masters, all the past champions who are in LIV are playing. Is it because of him? [Gooch] Isn’t there? What has he ever done? What has he ever done? The fact that he was the best player at LIV last year is embarrassing,” Mediate said incredulously.
“What has he ever done?”
In the wake of Taylor Gooch’s comments about Rory McIlroy’s chances of winning the Masters, Rocco Mediate has gone off topic.
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“Please, he just shut up, do his job, take all the money, and that’s fine. But don’t do that. I’m going to say something about Rory, are you kidding me?
“LIV would say, ‘Hey, shut up.’ We’ll handle this.”
Indeed, it’s hard not to agree with Mediate’s assessment. All told, 13 members of LIV Golf’s tour will be playing at Augusta, including all of the best players except Gooch himself.
Mediate isn’t the only one blasting Gooch. DP World Tour veteran Eddie Pepperell has been called a “fucking idiot” by golf fans and media alike.
Many LIV players have expressed their distaste for the Official World Golf Ranking System, which has plummeted since leaving the PGA Tour.
Whether or not their arguments are correct, and they are probably correct in many ways, the fact is that all past champions have played in majors.
Gooch thought she was expressing a general sentiment, but she didn’t realize how isolated she actually was. This caused the proverbial “egg” to clearly appear on his face.
Kendall Capps is the senior editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through.For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough On all major social media platforms.
