Talor Gooch claimed a victory for Rory McIlroy at this year’s Masters would come with an asterisk due to the current world rankings, and the Northern Irishman has issued a response.
Rory McIlroy has responded to Talor Gooch’s claim that a victory for McIlroy at this year’s Masters would have an ‘asterisk’ attached to it.
Gooch, along with several other LIV Golf stars, will not be participating in the opening major of the season at Augusta National due to his decline in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). In 2023, Gooch had an impressive run, winning three times on the LIV circuit and becoming the league’s season-long champion.
However, despite his success, Gooch did not earn any ranking points, resulting in a significant drop in his world ranking. He currently sits at 449th place, a staggering 400 places lower than his position at this time last year.
Ahead of his exclusion from the Masters this year, Gooch expressed doubts about the credibility of the event in an interview with Australian Golf Digest. He stated that if Rory Mcllroy were to achieve his Grand Slam without some of the top players in the world, there would always be an asterisk attached to it.
Gooch emphasized the importance of having the best players in the world participate in the majors, as it benefits everyone involved. Unsurprisingly, McIlroy was asked about Gooch’s comments prior to his return to the PGA Tour at the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach, Florida this week.
In a composed and dignified manner, the Northern Irishman responded by saying, “The Masters is an invitation-only tournament, and they have the discretion to invite those they believe deserve it. I think it’s important to note that if you read the entire question and answer, it’s not as if he made that statement out of the blue.”
I believe that the interviewer may have influenced the interviewee’s response, so I am inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. He simply agreed with whatever the interviewer asked.
However, McIlroy did mention Gooch’s lack of effort in earning ranking points elsewhere, which contrasted with Joaquin Niemann’s dedication. Niemann earned an invite to the Masters after winning in Australia and participating in tournaments around the world. It is unclear if Taylor put in the same level of effort.
The lack of recognition from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) continues to be a major issue for the LIV setup. The league’s request for ranking points was rejected last October, with the ranking system officials citing the 54-hole, no cut tournament format of LIV and its promotion and relegation system as the main reasons for the rejection.
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