LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman is notorious for hot takes.
His latest about Talor Gooch is genuinely something to behold, as the Aussie legend put him in a category all his own.
During Friday’s LIV Golf broadcast in Miami, the team interviewed Norman, who gave a massive compliment to Gooch.
“Talor Gooch is the best iron player in the game of golf in the past 20 years that I’ve personally witnessed,” Norman said.
Big endorsement of Talor Gooch from The Shark. “Talor Gooch is the best iron player in the game of golf in the past 20 years that I’ve personally witnessed” pic.twitter.com/XCdLpCbqwh
— LIV Golf Enthusiast (@LIVGolfEnth) April 6, 2024
That is quite a sentence from Norman’s mouth, considering the people who played professional golf in the past two decades.
Does Tiger Woods ring a bell? He is one of the best iron players ever to play the game, regardless of the time frame. Rory McIlroy is another — when his game is at its best, McIlroy’s iron play puts on a clinic.
Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Collin Morikawa are all fantastic iron players. All three of them are major champions, while Gooch is not.
LIV’s own Louis Oosthuizen can also be in this category. So, Norman’s statement that Gooch is better than all of these guys is bold and outlandish.
The Shark likely wanted attention with his comment, and he got it.
Gooch left the PGA Tour with one victory, one third-place finish, nine top-5s, and 11 top-10s in 123 events. In major championships, his best finish came at the 2022 Masters Tournament, where he recorded a T14. The 32-year-old also saw a T20 at the 2022 PGA Championship. However, he missed the cut half the time he was in the field of a major.
On the LIV Golf Tour, the former Oklahoma State product won his first event last April at LIV Golf Adelaide in Australia. He followed it up with a win at the LIV Singapore tournament. His third tournament win game was in July 2023 in Andalucía, Spain. He would go on to win the LIV Golf individual title for 2023.
The Smash GC member has also had plenty to say about the PGA Tour, and if McIlroy won the Masters in 2024, it would need an asterisk beside it.
He is undeniably one of the top players in the Saudi-backed league. Gooch has a lot of talent and has proven he can win worldwide. Is he the best iron player in the last 20 years? It’s hard to agree with Norman on that statement.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
