“Discussions will be had and it’ll be interesting” - Talor Gooch says LIV Golf could potentially move to 72 holes format

Jon Rahm recently moved to LIV Golf. The Masters champion’s decision to join the Saudi-backed series surprised many as he had criticized its format in the past. Rahm had earlier stated that the ‘shotgun three days, no cut’ format was ‘not a golf tournament’ for him.

Following the Spaniard’s move, Talor Gooch has come out to note that LIV could reconsider its format in the coming days. Gooch, who won LIV Golf’s individual title for 2023, addressed Rahm’s criticism of LIV’s 54-hole format. The golfer, while lauding the former PGA Tour star as a ‘true competitor,’ hinted at a possible format change as well.

According to him, the Greg Norman-led series is set to undergo ‘discussions’ to look at the potential of moving to the widely accepted 72-hole format. However, he added that there has been no “open forum discussion” on the matter so far.

Talor Gooch told Golf Digest:

“He (Rahm) has been vocal about some stuff he didn’t love but he wouldn’t have come to LIV if he thought he was going to win 10 tournaments a year and have no competition… We haven’t had an open forum discussion with all the players. But you get both sides… guys who would welcome (changing to 72 holes) and some guys who are opposed to it. Discussions will be had and it’ll be interesting to see what comes of it.”

However, Gooch added that he personally prefers the 54-hole format as LIV Golf “was meant to be something different” from the traditional circuits.

He added:

“I think LIV Golf was meant to be something different; I think it’s not supposed to be a carbon copy of the rest of professional golf. I lean towards keeping it at 54 holes. Part of it, too, from my experience on the PGA Tour, was Thursdays are just irrelevant from a fan perspective (except for) only a couple times a year.”

Gooch was one of the first to defect from the PGA Tour and join LIV Golf. The 32-year-old, who recently left Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC to join Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC in place of Matthew Wolff, has been a vocal defendant of the breakaway tour.

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Jon Rahm on LIV Golf's format

Rahm has been a strong critic of the Saudi Arabian-backed league’s format. The Spaniard, who announced his shocking departure from the PGA Tour last week, has openly admitted in the past that LIV’s format is “not appealing” to him.

Speaking about LIV Golf at the 2022 US Open, Jon Rahm said, as quoted by Golfweek:

“To be honest, part of the (LIV) format is not really appealing to me. Shotgun three days to me is not a golf tournament, no cut. It’s that simple. I want to play against the best in the world in a format that’s been going on for hundreds of years. That’s what I want to see.”

Interestingly, the 29-year-old Spaniard’s move to LIV Golf could see the series undergo some format changes. The golfer, before signing the reported $566.4 million contract, hinted at the same. Speaking to reporters ahead of last Thursday’s announcement, Rahm said he was “hopeful” about LIV officials listening to his “advice” regarding its format.