Following Talor Gooch’s divisive “asterisk” remarks regarding this year’s Masters field, Justin Thomas took a playful jab at his rival in LIV Golf.
Known as golf’s “fifth major,” Thomas is one of several PGA Tour players competing at this week’s Players Championship. Though several LIV stars aren’t there because of their PGA Tour suspensions, much has been written about the caliber of the field at TPC Sawgrass this week.
In the lead-up to the competition this year, former champion Thomas weighed in on the subject, saying, “There’s always the argument that there are other events that are or are not.
“The PGA Championship has been the deepest field in terms of the most top 100 players, and I’m not just saying that for selfish reasons, it’s just the truth.” In recent months, the caliber of fields has gained a lot of attention, particularly in relation to the four major championships.
Due to their decline in the world rankings, fewer LIV golfers are expected to compete in all four of the major events this year. Gooch, the 2023 breakaway league winner, is one player who won’t be playing a lot. Gooch caused some controversy last month when he said that Rory McIlroy’s victory at this year’s Masters would come with a “asterisk” because there weren’t any LIV players in the tournament.
“There’s just going to be an asterisk if Rory Mcllroy goes and completes his Grand Slam without some of the best players in the world,” Gooch stated to Australian Golf Digest. That’s just how things are. Everybody benefits, in my opinion, whenever the majors manage to bring the greatest players in the world to town.
Talor Gooch questioned the authenticity of this year’s Masters, as Justin Thomas poked fun at him.
Aware of the irony in Gooch’s remarks, Thomas continued at TPC Sawgrass: “I understand what you mean when you talk about guys who are on the Tour or not, but that’s simply the way things work out and what they have chosen for themselves. Furthermore, since the field wasn’t very strong, I won’t get an asterisk next to my name for winning this, right?
Following Gooch’s remarks at the end of February, McIlroy offered his own reaction. “The Masters is an invitational, and they will invite whoever they think warrants an invitation,” stated the Northern Irishman, who will be vying to win the green jacket and complete the career Grand Slam, at the Cognizant Classic.
To be fair to Talor, I believe that if you read the question and the response in its whole, it shows that he didn’t just say that. I’m somewhat giving him the benefit of the doubt because I believe that whoever conducted the interview sort of guided him in that direction to say that. He essentially just nodded in response to the interviewer’s questions.”
When warned he committed a “disinterested” error, Rory McIlroy responded right away—something Tiger Woods never did.
The Players Championship can be viewed via live streaming, TV channels, and specific groups.
Though he responded diplomatically, McIlroy showed little remorse for Gooch’s decision to skip Augusta the following month, emphasizing Joaquin Niemann’s non-LIV work that won him a Masters invitation. “But at the same time Joaquin Niemann got an invite and I played with Joaquin in Dubai a few weeks ago and he went down to Australia and won,” he stated.
“He spent last week in Oman. I’m not sure if the same can be said for Taylor, but he’s been chasing his tail all over the world to try to play his way into Augusta or demonstrate enough form to earn an invitation.”
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