2022 Sony Open: Top 10 power rankings at Waialae

It took a handful of years as a pro to find his footing, but Talor Gooch is really coming into his own. The last two years have given way to tremendous growth for the former Oklahoma State Cowboy. Gooch ended 2019 ranked 208th in the Official World Golf Rankings. He climbed to 81 by year’s end in 2020 and to 32nd in 2021.

Gooch keeps churning out high finishes, which include the trophy he won at the last full-field event of 2021, the RSM Classic. He won by three shots and finished four ahead of third place and seven ahead of fourth.

Winning at Sea Island earned the 30-year-old to earn the last spot in last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions.

“To have a win at the end of the season was great because if it was in the middle of the season, you have so much more responsibility on your shoulders preceding the win, and so it was nice to have it at the end of the season when I could kind of savor it and take it all in and not have to get right back on the horse and get going again the next week,” Gooch was transcribed by ASAP Sports at the Tournament of Champions. “So it was perfect timing and couldn’t have been a better scenario.”

Kapalua is a tough score to master on the first try, but Gooch was under par all four days with 68-70-67-67 (-20) to finish on the top half of the leaderboard in T-15th. Gooch beat the likes of Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland and Phil Mickelson. He was ninth in strokes gained tee to green (3.212 total) and only found one bunker all week, which he got up and down from successfully.

The Oklahoman missed the cut at the 2021 Sony Open, but only by a shot after carding 70-67 (-3). Gooch previously made two of three cuts at Waialae highlighted by T-18th (64-66-70-69) in 2018.