THERE is much chatter these days about LIV Golf changing its unique format of playing 54 holes to the conventional 72 holes.

But Talor Gooch, the defending champion who edged out Sergio Garcia in a play-off last year at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course, is among those who would gladly prefer things to stay the way they are.

“Personally, the 54 holes are a lot better for the fans. It’s more of a sprint of a week. It just makes each day more important and more exciting. I hope we don’t switch to 72 holes,” said the 32-year-old American.

“We need to focus on the fans. We need to focus on how do we tailor a product to make it an exciting event to the fans. And in my opinion, through my experience, 54 holes is more exciting.”

LIV Golf – a men’s professional tour that began in 2022 – returns to Sentosa this week from Friday (May 3) to Sunday.

The event features the likes of current standings leader Joaquin Niemann from Chile, Jon Rahm of Spain and South African Dean Burmester, the winner of LIV Golf Miami.

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Continuing to drive home his point about the merits of a 54-hole event, Gooch explained that the organisers should always place the fans at the centre of any decision they make when it comes to the tournament’s format.

“It’s just funny to me, this arbitrary number of 72. Why is it not 90 or 108? (It should be about) what do the fans enjoy more, or what can we do to make it a more entertaining event for them,” he said.

“I think 54 is more of a sprint. The 100-metre dash in the Olympics is a lot more exciting, historically, than the 400 metres, right?”

The format aside, Gooch said that he was pumped up about heading out on to the Serapong course again to defend his title.

The course was recently voted the best in the world, and this year’s LIV Golf Singapore takes place during the year that Sentosa Golf Club celebrates its 50th anniversary.

“It’s just a fantastic golf course, and the greens are some of the best surfaces that I’ve ever put on in my life,” noted Gooch.

Among the other 53 players set to feature in Singapore are Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Louis Oosthuizen.

Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 US Open champion and Crushers GC captain, was also eager to return to Sentosa and have another chance to test himself after an impressive T-6 finish at the recent US Masters at Augusta.

“The fans out there were awesome, they showed up in waves, we all loved it. The course is exciting, the greens were in immaculate shape, so I’m looking forward to it. Pristine conditions, great fans, and a good atmosphere,” said DeChambeau.

LIV Golf’s Singapore leg will be a tune-up for many of the players ahead of the US PGA Championship that begins on May 15, when Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka defends the title he won last year.