LIV Golf’s Talor Gooch dismisses plans to go through qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Open

After being frustrated with not being part of the Masters' field, LIV Golf star Talor Gooch isn't going to play in a U.S. Open qualifying event. The reigning points leader for LIV gave a very short response when he and his teammates were asked if he'd be playing in the tournament.

He said:

"I'm not."

Brooks Koepka, one of his teammates, is already qualified for Majors this year. Both others Graeme McDowell and Jason Kokrak will be playing a wide variety of events to try and get into the field for the U.S. Open.

They won't be in the field for the PGA Championship this month, and McDowell said they'd be rooting for Koepka, but they're slated to try their best to make it into the U.S. Open later this year.

McDowell said:

"I'm the same. I've been playing for both qualifiers. I think I'm in Florida, Monday of Houston and then just south of London, the Tuesday of the international series Morocco which I'll go and play right after the open qualifying series. So obviously we pulling hard for this guy in a couple weeks time but obviously trying to get into a couple of Majors myself."

Kokrak noted that he was going to play the "US Open in Columbus and then the Open in Manchester", so he's giving himself a better shot at qualifying for the Major tournament. That is not what Gooch is going to do.

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Talor Gooch would need special invite to U.S. Open

It's still possible for Talor Gooch to make it to the U.S. Open. The tournaments can give sponsor exemptions to players not in the field they deem worthy of an invite. That's how another LIV player, Joaquin Niemann, got invited to Augusta National to play The Masters.

Talor Gooch doesn't plan to play any U.S. Open qualifiers

Gooch didn't get one, and it was a sore spot. He previously said that had Rory McIlroy won and completed his career Grand Slam (which he didn't), then it would have come with an asterisk on it since some of the world's best, Gooch included, weren't there.

McIlroy responded by saying that Gooch didn't seem to be putting the effort in to make the field. He pointed to Niemann going to worldwide events and trying to get enough OWGR points to make it into the automatic field, so even when he didn't, Augusta rewarded him for his effort.

Talor Gooch appears to be taking a similar route this time around with the U.S. Open. With his teammates looking to try everything they can to make it, Gooch simply isn't going to play any qualifiers and he didn't seem interested in expanding on why, either.

The 32-year-old publicly complained about it when he didn't make it into the Masters. Now that he's admitting to not even joining the qualifying event, it's harder for him to reasonably speak out about being left out. That is if he doesn't end up getting a special invitation or exemption after all.