Talor Gooch Fires Back At Billy Horschel For Calling LIV Golfers 'Hypocrites'

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The drama between LIV Golf and everyone not associated with the Saudi-backed circuit meets a new high week after week. That trend has continued at this week's BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour, and Billy Horschel and Talor Gooch are right in the thick of it.

Horschel, who won the BMW PGA Championship last year, has been the most outspoken PGA Tour player when it comes to LIV Golf that isn't named Rory McIlroy.

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Ahead of his defense this week, Horschel called out LIV golfers playing in this week's event "hypocrites" and mentioned some players by name, including Gooch.

"The guys that have publicly stated they want to play less, those are the hypocrites," Horschel said in part.

"I honestly don't think that the American guys who haven't supported the PGA Tour should be here - Abraham Ancer, Talor Gooch, Jason Kokrak. You've never played this tournament, you've never supported the DP World Tour. Why are you here? You are here for one reason only and that's to try to get World Ranking points because you don't have it."

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LIV Golf has applied for World Ranking Points, but has not been awarded them as of yet.

Gooch, who was among the first group of players to jump to LIV Golf, didn't appreciate Horschel's comments.

The one-time PGA Tour winner was honest about why he was playing in this week's DP World Tour event, saying World Ranking Points are absolutely playing a role.

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Gooch also pulled up Horschel's DP World Tour numbers making a point that while Horschel has become an ambassador for the BMW PGA Championship, he hasn't exactly been a familiar face on the European circuit.

Both Gooch and Horschel made valid points in this particular scenario.

Horschel is right in calling out guys who claimed they wanted to play less golf who have jumped into the playing field this week. With that being said, Gooch has rightfully qualified for the event as a Top 60 player in the world and has every right to tee it up this week.

These petty back and forth will continue until some sort of resolution comes to a head. When that may happen, nobody knows.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.