LIV Golf 2026 Season Player Preview: Talor Gooch

The 2026 LIV Golf season starts next February under the lights in Riyadh, and in the next few months, we’ll take a detailed look at each player competing next season. Next up is a player who’s won on LIV Golf four times, Smash GC's Talor Gooch.

LOOKING AHEAD

Gooch will look to build on his strong play in the second half of the 2025 season as he seeks to regain the dominant form of 2023 when he won the Individual Championship.

He is an accurate driver of the golf ball and one of the best iron players in the league, making him a threat to contend in the weeks where those skills align with the course setup. The 33-year-old worked extremely hard to regain the form that made him one of the best players on LIV Golf and should be more consistent in 2026.

LOOKING BACK

Gooch has landed inside the top 11 in the LIV Golf standings in all four of his seasons, which stands as one of the most reliable records in the league’s brief history. In 2025, the 33-year-old claimed his first individual title since 2023 with his second win at Valderrama in three seasons and his fourth career LIV victory. After a quiet opening stretch with no top 10s in his first six starts through Mexico City, Gooch caught fire down the stretch, posting top 10 finishes in five of his final seven events.

WHAT THE STATS SAY

Strengths: At his best, Gooch is one of the best iron players in the world and that was once again on display in the latter half of 2025. The Smash GC star finished the season ranked 10th in Strokes Gained: Approach but really thrived with his mid-irons, where he ranked 2nd in the league in Strokes Gained: Approach between 150-225 yards.

Gooch ranked 10th in the league in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and in the top 10 in driving accuracy.

Weaknesses: Gooch hits plenty of fairways but is in the bottom half of the league in driving distance. Due to being shorter off the tee, he ranked 28th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, losing 0.06 strokes to the field per round on average.

Gooch ranked in the middle of the pack in a handful statistical categories, including putting (27th), long approach (26th) and short approach (30th).

CAREER RESULTS

LIV GOLF REGULAR SEASON

TOTAL TROPHIES WON (13)

LIV GOLF CAREER SCORING

Stroke Average Total: 69.02
Round 1 Average: 69.30
Round 2 Average: 68.59
Round 3 Average: 69.17

Lowest Round: 62

BOTTOM LINE

We may not see the Talor Gooch that won three times in 2023, but I’d fully expect him to be a top-10 player in the league going forward. If Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka can return to form, he and Gooch should create a formidable 1-2 punch that would make Smash GC contenders in 2026.