“Why is it not 90? Why not 108?”: Talor Gooch not a fan of recreating Jon Rahm’s traditional 72-hole format at LIV Golf
Several LIV Golf members have noted the possibility of the tour adopting the standard 72 holes that other tours have. Others have said they want that to happen, but Talor Gooch is not one of them. He thinks the format LIV has makes the tour unique and gives fans a fun and exciting experience. That should be the most important thing in his eyes, not conforming to what golf has always done.
Gooch said via South China Morning Post:
“We need to focus on the fans. How do we tailor a product and exciting event to the fans; and just my opinion through my experience of 54 holes, it just appears to be more exciting.”
The golfer and reigning LIV points winner said that the standard 72-hole format is just arbitrary and that golf could do whatever it wants to:
“It’s just funny to me, this arbitrary number of 72. Why is it not 90? Why is it not 108? We just decided to make that number the number, for what reason Everyone’s talked about world ranking points and all this stuff, but no one’s talked about what do the fans enjoy more?
He believes that golf fans want something more exciting. And there's no question, Gooch believes that the 54-hole format is more exciting for fans.
Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm support 72 holes on LIV Golf
Whether or not LIV Golf will adopt the 72-hole format of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour remains to be seen. 54 holes makes them unique, but that could change. Phil Mickelson wouldn't be surprised if they did go to 72, and Jon Rahm wouldn't be upset about it.
Mickelson said after the Masters via ESPN:
"I don't think it makes a difference either way. We've got mini-tours playing 54, Champions Tour playing 54. I wouldn't be surprised if some or all of LIV events went to 72. I don't know, but it doesn't matter. I enjoy the competition."
He also noted that the 72-hole format provides a very different playing experience. With 54 holes, the first round is make or break. With 72, the first round isn't a death knell, which allows golfers to fight to stay in it and make a comeback over the final three rounds.
Rahm said:
"I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I definitely wouldn't mind going back to 72 holes."
The Spaniard has also admitted to missing competing on the PGA Tour and defending his titles in certain tournaments, so he is potentially just missing the old way he played in general.
Much of the conversation around lengthening the tournaments stems from OWGR points. One of the biggest reasons that LIV can't get points to rank their golfers alongside the rest of the world is the stark difference in format.
Whether or not the tour wants that badly enough to go away from what made them unique and, in some cases, enticing in the first place remains to be seen.