TULSA — It wasn't very long ago—2016, in fact—that Talor Gooch was on the brink of collapse at the second stage of the Web.com Qualifying School, pondering a future career at Best Buy. The Midwest City, Okla., native had no profile to speak of, and at TPC Craig Ranch in Texas, it took every ounce of resilience he had to recover from a poor start and fight his way to status. Success wasn't immediate, but Gooch, now 30, has gradually risen up the ranks of the game, and the view now looks very different than it did back then—35th in the world rankings, a PGA Tour win at last fall's RSM Classic, and a top-five at the Players Championship. Trace the path of that trajectory, and the next big expectation is contending at majors. Where better than Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, where he's so close to home he could drive, has gallery support as an Oklahoma State alum and where he's the only born-and-bred Oklahoman in the field?