The Gooch Precedent: Tour Player Pays Back Bettors Who Lost On His Missed Cut

Engagement! Impact! Precedent?

It’s quite a wild ride seeing Talor Gooch’s back and forth with a heckler and several bettors after missing the Valspar cut.

Golf.com’s Nick Piastowski compiled the various exchanges and Venmo evidence of Gooch paying bettors off. Gooch even sent money to a fan who wanted help with his Chipotle AND threw in extra money for guac.

Gooch stressed he was not trying to goose his Player Impact Program score, not that we’d know based on the once-secret program’s structure.

I doubt we’ll see this kind of response continue on a regular basis. But with golfers potentially vulnerable to heckling in ways other athletes are not, Gooch has established an intriguing betting precedent.

Just a hunch, but I could see a range or locker room conversation where an Oxford-shirt wearing VP says something to the effect of…

Talor, boy that was nice PIP engagement last week, strong repurposing of an MC to interplay with our fans. There was lots of talk around the croissant maker down at the Global Home about how you’re just the kind of guy we need to make this Tour go. But you know, uh, one thing Jay sent me a note on: maybe we don’t go so far as reimbursing those who claim to have lost a wager. You know, we have some strong messaging out there about budgeting your weekly spends, and while it’s great you took care of your fans, we really need to keep expectations focused in a linear engagement fashion without the use of Venmo. Hey and play well this week buddy!