2021 RSM Classic: Top 10 power rankings at Sea Island

Talor Gooch couldn’t string together a fifth straight top-11 last week at the Houston Open, but he was still in the money to salvage 60th. He opened in 65 but appeared to run out of gas the rest of the way.

The former Oklahoma State Cowboy has played a lot this fall, but can you blame him? Some of his closest calls to grabbing that first PGA Tour win came at the Fortinet Championship (T-4th) and the CJ Cup (T-5th) where he was just four shots off the pace each time.

Gooch has made four of his last five cuts, as well as 11 of the last 12.

He hasn’t had a sparkling resume at the RSM Classic, but it’s easy to see his career has progressed significantly even since his last trip to Sea Island in 2020 (MC).

Gooch did post T-23rd in 2019 and shot three rounds in the 60s.

The 29-year-old kept his PGA Tour card last season in large part to his iron play. Gooch was 32nd in strokes gained approach (.435)

I get the gist that he’s aware he’s playing some of the best golf of his career. He’s likely ready for some time off coming up, but I like Gooch to focus in for one more week and contend once more.

“Yeah, anytime you’re playing well you try to grab on to that momentum, and it can be tough to take it week to week in golf because there’s such a pause between tournament round and the next week’s tournament starting,” Gooch was transcribed by Tee Scripts during the Houston Open. “So you just try to do everything you can to keep doing the same things.”