Before they turned pro: Talor Gooch

November 21, 2021 | by Pete Wlodkowski of AmateurGolf.com

Golfweek photo

PGA Tour RSM Classic winner Talor Gooch comes from humble beginnings, growing up on an Oklahoma course he calls a "typical muni"

PGA Tour RSM Classic winner Talor Gooch never cracked the top-100 in the amateur rankings. But he was a consistent performer both at Oklahoma State -- where his team reached the final match in 2014 NCAA Championship before falling to Alabama -- and on the summer amateur circuit.

While playing for The OSU Cowboys, Gooch enjoyed the trappings of big-time college golf. like a private jet and a world-class golf course, Karsten Creek. But Gooch, a former member of AmateurGolf.com, comes from much humbler beginnings.

Back in 2012, Gooch competed in the U.S. Publinx, an event no longer held by the USGA. He described the course he grew up on, -- John Conrad Regional Golf Course in his hometown of Midwest City, Okla. -- as “your typical muni.”

“My course is a perfect example of what a Publinks player should be like. The biggest slope on the greens is like this right here,” he said, pointing at a perfectly-flat cart path. “The greens are about that quick right there,” he said as he looked toward the fairway-length turf on the driving range.

We can tell by the reaction to his win by fans like Max Homa that Gooch has stayed true to those roots. And he can now call himself a PGA Tour winner, and enjoy all of the benefits that come along with that title.

Talor!!!!!!!!! The kid has arrived. Watch out everyone. Congrats to T and Mal. What a team @TalorGooch @MalBaker12
— max homa (@maxhoma23) November 21, 2021

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