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Talor Gooch’s form since being called out by Rory McIlroy in 2024 draws attention

Originally posted on HITC | By Lee Connor | Last updated Oct 5, 2025 3:35 PM ET

Rory McIlroy’s 2025 season has been nothing short of fantastic. And after finally completing his career Grand Slam, it is worth revisiting what Talor Gooch said about him in the year before.

In 2024, Gooch remarked that if McIlroy were to win the Masters, the absence of LIV Golf players would put an asterisk next to his achievement.

“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. 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,” he stated.

McIlroy did not win Augusta in 2024, but he did so a year later, clinching both The Masters and his career Grand Slam. Now with six major titles under his belt, no one is calling this one tainted.

The game also looks very different from when Gooch made those comments. Most LIV players are back playing major events, following changes made by golf’s governing bodies throughout 2025.

Meanwhile, Gooch remains with LIV and has not featured in a major since finishing T60 at the PGA Championship that same year.

How Rory McIlroy responded to Talor Gooch’s Masters comments

Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images

Top golfers are rarely short on strong opinions, and that includes McIlroy.

The Northern Irishman is known for speaking his mind, and he did not hold back when asked about Gooch’s remarks the previous year.

“The Masters is an invitational, and they’ll invite whoever they think warrants an invite. I think to be fair to Talor, if you read the entire…the question and then the answer, it’s not as if he just came out with that. I feel like whoever did the interview led him down that path to say that, so I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt there a little bit. He just agreed with what the interviewer asked.

“I played with him a few weeks ago in Dubai, and he went down to Australia and won,” McIlroy said of Niemann.

“He was in Oman last week. He has been chasing his tail around the world to get this, play his way into Augusta or show enough form to warrant an invite. I don’t know if the same can be said for Talor.”

Since that exchange, McIlroy has only continued to add to his legacy.

The same cannot really be said for Gooch, though.

How Talor Gooch has fared since his Rory McIlroy remarks

Gooch has always been a talented player, and his switch to LIV was a notable signing for the league.

But since making those comments about McIlroy in early 2024, he has not exactly backed them up on the course.

He has only featured in one major since then – the 2024 PGA Championship – where he finished tied for 60th. In that same period, he has managed just one win on LIV Golf.

While he had four top-10 finishes during the 2024 season, it was not until July 2025 that he finally picked up another victory. Even so, that does not compare to what McIlroy has achieved in the same stretch.

The difference is stark when you look at the Northern Irishman’s record over that span: multiple tournament wins, including The Masters to complete his Grand Slam, The Players Championship, another Ryder Cup title and plenty of other victories along the way.

As for Gooch’s “asterisk” remark – whatever weight it may have held at the time – it has not changed anything.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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