Nick Dougherty has called for an end to golf’s “mud slinging” heading into the 88th Masters after it was suggested in the build up to the season’s opening major that a victory for career grand-slam chasing Rory McIlroy at Augusta National this week would be lessened by the absence of some LIV Golf players.

The controversial claim was made by American Talor Gooch, who recorded a breakthrough victory on the PGA Tour when landing the RSM Classic in 2021 before signing for LIV Golf and winning three times on the breakaway circuit last year but has never finished higher in a major than tied for 14th.

In an interview with Golf Digest Australia, Gooch spoke out about LIV Golf players like him finding it difficult to secure spots in the majors due to Official World Golf Ranking points not being on offer on the circuit set up by Saudi Arabia backing and with Greg Norman as its commissioner and CEO. “If Rory McIlroy goes and completes his (career) grand slam without some of the best players in the world, there’s just going to be an asterisk. It’s just the reality,” said Gooch, who was once as high as 31st in the global standings but has since plummeted to 550th.

Talor Gooch of RangeGoats GC pictured during the LIV Golf Invitational - Miami at Trump National Doral Miami last October. Picture: Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images.

It’s not the first time the 32-year-old has come out with something controversial since signing for LIV Golf, having been widely ridiculed after claiming that he “couldn’t imagine there’s a hell of a lot of difference” between its team element and the atmosphere at either a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup,

“It’s interesting,” said Doughtery, laughing, as he spoke to The Scotsman about Gooch. “He’s had a few unfortunate instances so far of putting his foot in it, sadly. Rory has won the biggest events around the world for close to a couple of decades now and it’s interesting in our sport how – and it’s probably down to a social media age – pot shots are taken at players by people who have got nowhere near the same amount of credibility.

“If Tiger [Woods] or Phil [Mickelson] said that or even Nick Faldo said that, okay I might not agree with their opinion, but it’s coming from someone who knows what it takes to win these tournaments. Talor won one PGA Tour tournament, which, incidentally, Rory didn’t play in and I just think the mud slinging needs to come to an end with all of this.”

Jon Rahm, of course, will be defending his title in Georgia next week as a LIV Golf player after his sensational big-money signing at the end of last year while Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed are also in the field as past champions. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka is another LIV man in the field, as is Joaquin Niemman, who was handed one of three special invitations given to international players by Augusta National.

Sky Sports presenter Nick Dougherty is a big fan of Bob MacIntyre, both as a golfer and a person. Picture: Warren Little/Getty Images.

“LIV Golf clearly has a wealth of really strong players,” added Dougherty, who will be part of the Sky Sport team covering the event’s 88th edition. “Talor is one of them and I think he’d have gone on to win a lot more on the PGA Tour. But he’s made that choice to join LIV Golf and that’s fine as that’s where the game is right now.

“But the ugliness of this is the constant bickering and that’s what needs to go away in the first instance. Rory has had a big change of heart in terms of how outspoken he’s been about LIV Golf and anything that wasn’t the PGA Tour. He’s very much softened his stance in that respect and I like to think that because, as an elite level sport and an entertainment sport, golf needs to stay relevant, which means we need to have the best players playing against the best players. If you further fracture it, you lessen the product.”

McIlroy is making his tenth attempt to become just the sixth player after Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods to win all four of golf’s majors. He’s knocked on the door a couple of times twice in the last three years his race had been run after just two rounds due to missing the cut.

“I think a bit of luck and staying out of his own way and I mean that with the greatest amount of respect as he’s obviously immensely talented mentally as well,” said Dougherty, a former Alfred Dunhill Links champion in reply to being asked what he thinks the Northern Irishman needs to do to become Masters champion and, in doing so, make amends for letting a golden opportunity slip from his grasp 2011. “I don’t mean in terms of him beating himself and you’ve got to remember how hard it is to achieve a career grand slam. No-one has gone as long as he has without winning it. It adds up every year as people keep saying ‘another chance, another chance’.

“But let’s remember how hard it is to win majors. There’s just four of them and so to peak four times per year is really hard. His isn’t even that. He’s trying to peak for one particular week of the year and, if he doesn’t do it, he’s got to wait a whole year for the next one. It’s immense pressure and the depth of talent he’s trying to beat is so deep.

“For people to say ‘how come he’s not won it yet?’ You are kidding. You might have been able to say that about Tiger, but there is no other golfer in the world I can think of that you could say ‘how come he’s not done this or that’. It’s the same with Phil Mickelson when it comes to the US Open and how come Nick Faldo only win two of the majors, albeit three times. They are really, really hard and that’s the challenge for Rory.

“As brilliant as Rory is, he’s a human being and that is immense pressure. As he well knows, winning The Masters takes him from being the greatest player of his generation to being one of the legends. And, if you take Tiger away, it’s a long time before the one before him. It’s a massive challenge, but it’s one he’s more than capable of and I will continue to believe he can do it because it’s a golf course that suits him.”

Nick Dougherty calls for end to 'mud slinging' in build up to 88th Masters

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