Justin Thomas spoke about the quality of the Players Championship field this week amid the split between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, and the 2021 could not resist a jibe at Talor Gooch.
Justin Thomas aimed a cheeky dig at his LIV Golf rival Talor Gooch, following the latter’s controversial ‘asterisk’ comments over this year’s Masters field.
Thomas is among several PGA Tour professionals competing in the Players Championship this week, considered the ‘fifth major’ in golf.
There has been a lot of discussion about the quality of the players participating at TPC Sawgrass this week, as some prominent LIV stars are missing due to their bans from the PGA Tour.
Former champion Thomas discussed the ongoing debate leading up to this year’s event, stating that one could argue for or against the significance of other tournaments.
The PGA Championship is known for having the highest number of top 100 players, and this statement is based on facts rather than personal bias. Recently, there has been significant discussion about the level of competition in major golf tournaments.
All four flagship events are set to include a lower number of LIV golfers this year amid their fall in the world rankings. One man who will not be in major action is the breakaway league’s 2023 champion Gooch, who raised eyebrows last month when claiming a win for Rory McIlroy at this year’s Masters would come with an ‘asterisk’ due to the lack of LIV players involved.
“If Rory Mcllroy goes and completes his Grand Slam without some of the best players in the world, there’s just going to be an asterisk,” Gooch told Australian Golf Digest. “It’s just the reality. I think everybody wins whenever the majors figure out a way to get the best players in the world there.”
Thomas found humor in Gooch’s comments and jokingly stated at TPC Sawgrass that he understood the significance of world rankings and players no longer on the Tour. He mentioned that it is the reality of the situation and the choices players have made.
Thomas dismissed the idea of having an asterisk next to his name for winning, implying that it doesn’t matter if the field wasn’t strong. Following Gooch’s statements in late February, McIlroy responded.
The golfer from Northern Ireland, who is aiming to win the green jacket and achieve the career Grand Slam, expressed his thoughts at the Cognizant Classic. He mentioned that The Masters is an invitation event and the organizers will decide who deserves an invitation.
I believe it is important to consider the context of the question and answer when discussing Talor’s response. It seems as though the interviewer may have influenced his statement, so I am inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. In essence, he simply agreed with what was prompted by the interviewer.
Despite responding diplomatically, McIlroy showed little compassion for Gooch’s absence from Augusta in the coming month. He pointed out the impressive performance of Joaquin Niemann outside of the LIV Golf Invitational, which led to him receiving an invite to the Masters. “But Joaquin Niemann received an invitation and I recently competed with him in Dubai.
He then traveled to Australia and emerged victorious,” he further emphasized. “He visited Oman the previous week. He has been traveling to different countries in order to secure a spot in Augusta or demonstrate good enough performance to receive an invitation, and it is unclear if Taylor is doing the same.”