29 April 2023 , 13:55
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Talor Gooch has revealed the private conversation he had with Tiger Woods at the 2023 Masters which shows the golf superstar is keeping an eye on LIV Golf's progress.
Woods, 47, pulled out of the Masters through injury after aggravating an ongoing foot problem in the third round. The 15-time major champion made the cut and scraped through to the weekend but was unable to progress any further.
But while the Masters was the primary focus, Woods decided to turn the topic of conversation with Gooch towards the schedule of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour. Woods has been outspoken in the past about his disagreements with the way LIV was set up, but it seems he is at least taking notice of the breakaway competition.
"So I have kind of a funny story," Gooch said on the Fore the People podcast. "So at Augusta, one of the mornings I was warming up, Tiger was right next to me warming up.
"And he was like, man, you're with Bubba [Watson]'s team now, right? And I was like, yeah. He's like, you all are going to Adelaide, right? I'm like, yeah. He goes, man, they got some great golf there.
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“And then he’s, have you ever been to Singapore? I was like, man, first time. And he’s like, man, you need to go to the casino at Marina Bay Sands. It’s the famous hotel casino here; you’ve all seen it, for sure. It looks like there’s a boat on top of three towers. It’s this massive casino hotel."
Gooch explains how Woods continued to explain his time in Singapore by revelling in the money he has earned in his career. He admitted he learned quickly what the difference was between being "rich and rich, rich" as he recalled a moment he decided to play baccarat and gamble huge hands.
Woods was aware of LIV's post-Masters scheduled which surprised GoochJohn Peterson, a golf professional himself added: "You know, that’s kind of encouraging to know that Tiger watches you all that much, though, right. Because he knew that you were going to go to Australia.
"And then not just that he knew you were going to Australia, he knew the next event was in Singapore. And I guarantee you, if you were to ask 95 percent of golf fans the week of the Masters where the LIV tour was going the next two weeks in a row, there's no way they would have been able to tell you Australia and Singapore. So Tiger’s paying attention. Tiger’s paying attention a little bit."
Gooch replied: "Yup, that was my takeaway, too.”