Just when LIV Golf appeared to be changing the narrative with their 2024 season on an upward trajectory, along came Talor Gooch to bring everything crashing back down.
The Saudi-backed league is attracting bigger audiences every year by nabbing the world's best players.
There's still a long way to go for LIV to truly rival the dominance of the PGA Tour, but they're making a good crack at it with Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton the latest big-name players to jump ship.
The forever-changing landscape of professional golf is hard to predict where it will be this time next year.
Much of that will likely depend on whether LIV Golf ever gets recognised by the Official World Golf Ranking system.
But players who have departed for the Saudi-backed tour knew what they were signing up for when they left to sign up for guaranteed millions.
There hasn't been any indication from the OWGR that they will change their stance, meaning players like Gooch need to work out different ways of qualifying for the majors.
That isn't good enough it seems for Gooch, who made a cool $36million on the LIV tour last season.
Majors remain the pinnacle for all golfers and the outspoken American will have to make do with watching the 2024 Masters from afar after not being given an invite to Augusta.
He wasn't going to take the snub lying down and attempted to take McIlroy down with him as a result.
Gooch almost came across as arrogant by claiming his snub from Augusta National would devalue McIlroy's achievement if he were to win the Career Grand Slam this year.
The 32-year-old's ego has been dented and McIlroy deflated it even further by pointing out the American didn't do enough to warrant a special invite to the Masters - unlike LIV Golf's Joaquin Niemann.
The Chilean understood the assignment needed to get the attention of Augusta and did everything he could to force the hand of the famous major.
His win at the Australian Open was just the start with Niemann then going on to finish tied-fourth at the Dubai Desert Classic.
Gooch can't say the same as he's stuck to his guns by just playing LIV events and holding the belief he's still deserving of a spot in the most prestigious event in golf.
LIV will always be tough to like when players like Gooch and pantomime villain Greg Norman continue to moan about the OWGR system not working in their favour.
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At its core, LIV remains an event completely different to the Masters and that won't change any time soon unless they rejig their format.
A 56-hole event with no cut is not going to help you qualify for the Masters alone.
Niemann knew that and did something about it. Gooch hasn't and is paying the price for that ignorant oversight.
