OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) -- The PBR Team Series is hitting Oklahoma City July 12-14. Set to make its debut are the Oklahoma Wildcatters, a group owned by professional golfer and Oklahoma native Talor Gooch.
Gooch, the winner of the individual title on the LIV Tour this past season, says he hopes his success in golf coupled with the way Oklahomans support there own will lead to a good opening weekend for the series.
"With the PBR Team Series trying to attract the more casual fan, I was like there's going to be a lot of people who didn't think twice about bull riding, who know what I've done in the golf world and are gonna say 'huh, we need to go check that out'"
Gooch admittedly didn't know much about bull riding growing up, but says he was recently introduced to the sport and immediately became intrigued.
Now the proud owner of the Oklahoma Wildcatters, he says there's a great drive within him to make sure his team is one of the best.
"Listen, like anything you care about, anything you've put time in, you've sacrificed, you've made an effort for you're going to get nervous going. Especially if you want to do well, and we're not doing this team just to hangout and have fun, we're here to win."
It's a competitive spirit that has been in him since he was just a kid playing golf in Oklahoma. As an 11-year-old, Gooch was invited out to an event at OU that professional golfer Craig Perks was part of. Gooch said he got to ride around with Perks that day and watch him play, creating a vision for himself.
"It sounds pretty cocky for an 11-year-old, but I remember thinking 'he just hits it further than me, but I can kind of do the rest of this' so really from an early age it was something I felt like I could do and it's all I've ever wanted to do."
Growing up in Midwest City, Gooch says his family was Sooner born and Sooner bred, but when it came time to choosing a college to fit his dreams, he elected to head north and play at Oklahoma State.
"Everyone knew if you wanted to play at the highest level of professional golf, Oklahoma State was the place to go. As much as I loved OU, I said you know what I want to play on the PGA Tour, I want to play this game for a living."
He's now on a long list of Cowboys to experience success at the various levels of professional golf, but getting to that point wasn't easy for Gooch. He says while some players have experienced immediate success, his journey took a little bit longer to reach that point.
"Whenever I was playing PGA Tour Canada, which is a couple levels below the PGA Tour. Back in 2015 I was staying in a Motel 6, I have no money and you're grinding with really no end in sight and you feel like you're a long ways away from being where you want to be." "Things don't come easy to us [Oklahoman's] and we have to dig it out of the dirt and we work hard. So those are the moments where you have to dig down deep and find that belief within."
Gooch hopes to continue his success on the golf course, and also carry it over to the Wildcatters. His experience with failure has led him to be ready for both.
"Golf is a sport of failure, so when you have those moments of success you savor it and you try to ride those waves as much as you can. It's been a great journey so far and hopefully we have a lot more good to come."
The Oklahoma Wildcatters debuted Friday night, taking down the Texas Rattlers 248.25 to 0.00. The PBR team series continues in OKC Saturday and Sunday.
