Golf Twitter can be its ugliest when gamblers—angry about their losing bets or fantasy lineups—tweet at a professional golfer for struggling in a particular tournament. Talor Gooch was a few messages on social media after missing the cut at the Valspar Championship, but he smartly (and graciously) turned the moment into a positive.
Gooch shot 73-74 to miss the cut by four at the Valspar, but three bogeys in a row through the difficult stretch at the Copperhead course secured his fate to heading home for the weekend. It also sealed the fate of a gentleman’s DFS (daily fantasy sports) lineup, which prompted him to tweet at the former Oklahoma State golfer:
Another Twitter user jumped in, tweeting his losing bets on Gooch at the man himself. And Gooch delivered with a fat Venmo payment of $50. Nice!
The bets (below tweet):
And he didn't stop there it appears ...
Honestly, a great by Gooch to turn these negative social-media comments into a positive for his brand. Max Homa did the same thing a few years ago, turning the heat he was getting into an opportunity to give money to charity.
Of course, Gooch has earned more than $1.7 million so far this season—thanks to a T-5 at the Players and two other top-five finishes. So good on him to send a few bucks to guys who might need the money a little more than him.
But Gooch should be a little careful—he might be underestimating how many people lost money on him this weekend. This author included ... I have a few busted DFS lineups thanks to Gooch. But I won't tweet at him ... but Talor, if you're reading this, my Venmo is @Stephen-Hennessey. Just saying...
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