Talor Gooch didn’t believe he would get 2024 PGA Championship invite - “It’s brave of them”

Talor Gooch was one of seven LIV Golf players to receive a special invitation to play in the 2024 PGA Championship. Gooch is known for not seeking to qualify for the majors in the same way as some of his LIV peers, so he did not expect to be invited to Valhalla Golf Club.

Gooch gave an interview to The Times, in which he acknowledged that he defined himself as "one of the enemies of the golfing world" and acknowledged that the invitation issued by the PGA of America was "very surprising."

“I think I’ve somehow become one of the enemies of the golfing world, so it was very surprising," Talor Gooch said. "I had no reason to believe the PGA of America were going to send me an invite but I’m super grateful for it."

"They’re the first body to reward a player strictly for their performance on LIV," he added. "It’s brave of them and hopefully a step in the right direction for professional golf in its entirety."

The 2024 edition will be Talor Gooch's fifth PGA Championship. He has previously made two cuts with a T20 in 2022 as his best result.

Talor Gooch's greatest career successes have come in LIV Golf. In the 2023 season, Gooch finished as the individual champion, with three wins and two other top 10s. During 2024 he has not won but has finished in two top 10s, including a second-place finish.

Talor Gooch explains the "asterisk" he talked about before The Masters

During his interview for The Times, Talor Gooch also talked about the famous "asterisk" reference he made prior to The Masters Tournament.

"It was taken as me saying there’ll be an asterisk because I wasn’t going to be there," Gooch said, "but what I was implying was if the [world ranking] system doesn’t change and it continues like this, it’ll get to a point where guys like Bryson [DeChambeau] and DJ [Dustin Johnson’s] exemptions will run out, and if you don’t have the best of the best there, then that changes what the majors truly are."

Last February, Gooch gave an interview to Australian Golf Digest in which he stated that if Rory McIlroy won The Masters, the win should carry an "asterisk" because not all of the world's best players would be in the field.

"If Rory McIlroy goes and completes his grand slam without some of the best players in the world, there’s just going to be an asterisk," Gooch said to 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."

During his recent interview with The Times, Gooch also addressed the fact that he will not be seeking qualification to the U.S. Open or The Open Championship. In this regard, he said that the qualifying processes conflict with his LIV Golf schedule as well as his family obligations.