THE 150TH OPEN

July 15, 2022

Talor Gooch

Mixed Zone

Q. Course change at all from yesterday?

TALOR GOOCH: Yeah, the rain slowed it down quite a bit. There wasn't as much wind out there. So hopefully that sun will shine through for a little bit and get it firm and fast for the guys this afternoon.

Q. Still avoiding mistakes?

TALOR GOOCH: Yeah, my only bogey of the day was a three-putt on the 16th. So I was able to keep the ball in the fairway. I avoided the bunkers today and was able to -- the pins were really, really good today. They were really, really challenging. It was tough to get it close.

The times that I was hitting it 60, 70 feet out, I was able to two-putt those all but once. Did a good job of bogey avoidance today.

Q. Talk us through 17, great chip. How was your approach? Just those two shots.

TALOR GOOCH: I kind of pulled the drive, and then I had a funky lie, and it just came out faster than I expected it to, and went through the green, obviously the death zone. Fortunately, I walked up to it, and it's one of those 1 in 50 kind of lies that you're going to get out there. Not often are you ever going to get a lie where you can actually pop it up onto the green and stop it.

So it still needed to be a very precise shot, and when we got up there, I told my caddie, I go, well, we got a good break here. Let's take advantage of it. So I was fortunate to have that lie and took advantage of it.

Q. D.J.'s up there. You're up there. Sergio's 7-under. Casey's up there. Westwood's out there. What does that say?

TALOR GOOCH: I think there's some strong players, no doubt. The credentials of everyone speaks for themselves. It's obviously cool for me to see other guys that are out there playing well. We've caught a lot of flack for what we've done here recently.

I think one thing that cannot be questioned is the quality of players that are there.

Q. Have you guys been galvanised at all at some of the things that have been said this week by the R&A?

TALOR GOOCH: Yeah, for sure. Everybody, it feels like, is against us, and that's okay. Like you said, it's kind of banded us together, I think.

Q. Has it motivated you as a player, what the R&A said?

TALOR GOOCH: I actually didn't see what the R&A said. I don't know exactly what they said.

Q. They said they may change the criteria to get in.

TALOR GOOCH: Yeah.

Q. That ostensibly was addressed to the LIV players.

TALOR GOOCH: Yeah. Does that mean they're changing it so that we could get in?

Q. Or couldn't.

TALOR GOOCH: Or couldn't. Who knows? I guess we'll see.

Q. To follow up on a report that came out before, was it your plan to play just one of the LIV events?

TALOR GOOCH: That was my original plan, yeah.

Q. And then when did you decide to sign on full time?

TALOR GOOCH: When the TOUR suspended me.

Q. You didn't think the TOUR would suspend you if you played one?

TALOR GOOCH: Historically the TOUR has not done that. So based on the history, that was my expectations.

Q. Is there any extra motivation thinking this could potentially be your last Open?

TALOR GOOCH: I mean, it would be a cool one to go out on. Hopefully not, though. Obviously I was playing with Wyndham Clark, former teammate of mine, the last couple days, former teammate from Oklahoma State and PGA TOUR player, and we were talking about that.

I'd like to think that the majors would like to have the best players in the world playing in their events in spite of everything that's going on, but obviously that's not up to me. It's up to other people. Hopefully this won't be my last one.

Q. How would you describe the environment of playing at the home of golf?

TALOR GOOCH: There's nothing better. It's the mecca of golf, I think. The crowds, the volunteers, just the support of this whole community, it's super, super special.

That's why I dragged my wife and 1-year-old girl overseas just to experience this one week and dealt with all the travel hassle of it all because it's hopefully not a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but this is my first one here, so I wanted to be sure we were here to enjoy it all.

Q. What have you done away from the course?

TALOR GOOCH: We've had a pint or two. We've gone into town, showed them around town. We went to Old Tom Morris grave. We went to -- we've walked around town and just kind of soaked it all in.

It's been cool to walk around through tonnes of crowds. I'm not the star power that D.J. is, but it's been cool to see some of the biggest stars in golf be able to walk around, and everyone is just kind of, hey, how are you doing? Good to see you. People are just all here kind of together hanging out. So it's a cool, unique environment, for sure.

Q. Having said that, where does The Open fit in your list of majors? Is it your own Open at the top? How do you rate them all?

TALOR GOOCH: We talk about it. Max Homa is one of my good buddies out here, and we talk about it all the time. It's Augusta and here. They're the two meccas. For different reasons, you could argue which one is the mecca. It's right at the top there.

Q. Given your schedule, I would imagine it's a little bit different right now because of the circumstances to what it's been in the past. Is it easier for you to stay in form, or is it a little bit more of a challenge?

TALOR GOOCH: I'm ready for some time off. I've been golfing a tonne. I was thinking about it. I think I've golfed 20 of the last 30 weeks or something like that. It's not too tough to stay in form when you're golfing this much.

Hopefully, we don't have a whole bunch of time off here in the next three, four months. It looks like it's going to be the case right now. But that's the good thing of being in the position that we're in. As humbly put as possible, it doesn't take a lot for us at this level to stay sharp. But the game feels good, and I feel sharp.

Q. How much of a ribbing have you taken for what you said about comparing LIV to a Ryder Cup environment?

TALOR GOOCH: Yeah, a bunch of players came up, and they're like really? Really? I was like, hold on a second, guys. Give me a little break. I just won. I was in the moment. I might have gotten a little aggressive with the comments.

No, I mean, like I said, it was just I was in the moment with them. We were pumped. I watch F1. I was so pumped to be able to spray champagne like they do in F1. I was in the moment. Maybe a little aggressive of a comment. Rightfully so, I've taken a little bit of heat for it.

Q. What's the funniest thing someone said to you?

TALOR GOOCH: I don't know if I can say it out loud. It's everything you could expect. This dumb kid from Oklahoma, blah, blah, blah. You're never going to blah, blah, blah. It's been everything you can imagine. Hey, that's all right.

Q. Considering you still want to continue to play the PGA TOUR, what do you hope a resolution looks like?

TALOR GOOCH: That's not for me to decide. I think there's space in the world of professional golf that they can co-exist, and it's not just here or there. But again, that's not for me to decide.

Q. Talor, do you wish (indiscernible) could find a solution? Do you wish that?

TALOR GOOCH: Yeah, I've said it from the get-go, I don't think the golf world benefits from this continued butting of heads. I think there's a way to resolve this. I'm not the guy to do that. I'm not the guy that decides that.

But I think there's a way to resolve it that benefits everybody involved from the fans to the players, to the organisations and everyone. I think there's a way to do that.