GOOCH WANTS MORE IN MIAMI FOR RANGEGOATS GC
MIAMI – Life is sweet for Talor Gooch. He pocketed $18 million last week, won a work-of-art championship ring designed by famed jeweler Ben Baller and has been playing the best golf of any LIV Golf member in 2023.
Still, one thing is missing. And he wants to do something about it this week in South Florida.
Gooch, the star for RangeGoats Golf Club, won the individual season-long title last week at LIV Golf Jeddah, and with it, all the cash and hardware and bragging rights. On Thursday at Trump National Doral, his competitive juices were evident once again as he spoke about his final goal of the year: helping RangeGoats GC to the season-long title at the Team Championship in Miami.
A part of that goal was achieved last week in Jeddah when RangeGoats GC jumped from No. 5 to No. 4 in the season-long team standings, earning the team a crucial first-round bye in Miami.
“First of all, it’s a sense of relief knowing we can’t get knocked out in the first round,” said Gooch, who had three individual wins during the regular season. “It’s a stressful and tough week. The less stress you deal with is just going to give you a better chance of winning on Sunday. We’ll play a little golf (on Friday) and just chill and then be ready to go Saturday.”
Earning the bye was something Gooch was taking seriously in Jeddah, even though he was also focused on claiming the season’s individual championship. When talking to captain Bubba Watson and teammates Harold Varner III and Thomas Pieters, the discussion one time went to who the RangeGoats GC would pick to play in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Gooch ended that conversation quickly.
“Every time someone would say something about who might we pick, I would be like, ‘Hey, we’re not playing Friday,’” Gooch said. “I wanted to be talking more about what we are going to do Friday instead of playing golf. … So, getting that first bye was huge. It was the goal, and we were able to get it done.”
Gooch knew the importance of the day off would go further than getting some rest and continuing to adjust from Jeddah to Miami. It also increased the team’s chances of winning by the sheer math of it.
“It’s hard enough to win this week and it’s even harder if you have to survive three days of it,” Gooch said.
Watson has been impressed with Gooch’s leadership. The two-time Masters champion shared a story that happened recently which encapsulated Gooch’s drive.
“On the way so Saudi Arabia, there's an airport that has a full gym in it,” Watson said. “While he had the layover, he went in there and was training while he was waiting on the plane. He was working on it in between flights. But that's who he is. He's trying to get better.”
Watson called it motivating, and others took notice.
“I've been inspired watching from him, learning from him, seeing how he goes about it, how he does it.” Watson said. “When you have a player like that that keeps his head down and just grinds it out, you can learn from somebody like that.”
Gooch also knows a thing or two about winning a team championship. He was a member of 4Aces Golf Club last season when it claimed the inaugural team title in Miami. Now, with Gooch leading the way for RangeGoats GC, and thanks to the bye, the team won’t begin with a survive-and-advance mentality. It will be more about going full bore on the weekend with an attacking style.
If the plan works, it will be an amazing run for the team. And for Gooch, it would be the end of a monster season at the Blue Monster.