Brooks Koepka is not afraid to speak his mind. He proved this by criticizing his Smash GC teammate Matthew Wolff.
Wolff, who joined LIV Golf, an upstart circuit headed by Greg Norman, backed financially by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has struggled. He even resigned before the final round at a tournament outside Washington, D.C., in May, when he was 46th of 48 players. Koepka, ahead of the LIV event this week at the Centurion Club near London (the site of LIV’s first tournament in 2011), criticized Wolff’s attitude and work ethic.
Koepka told Sports Illustrated: “I don’t think that is competing when you quit your round. You give up, and things like that. “I don’t like that. You don’t work hard. It’s tough. It’s hard to even have a team dynamic with a guy who won’t give an effort. He’ll quit on the course and break clubs. I’ve given up on him. He has a lot of potential, but the talent is wasted.
Wolff, a player who many teams were interested in after LIV’s first eight-event year in 2022 has disappointed in 2023. This is especially true of recent times. The 24-year old finished T-7 T-10 T-5 at the start of the season but since then has been in the bottom half of leaderboards with finishes T-44 T-41 T-30 WD and 44th.
SI:
Wolff, who told Sports Illustrated that he was healthy, said: “I’m trying to do everything I can to make sure that I play my best round of golf. That’s what’s going help the team.” “I’m here to concentrate on myself and play some good golf. That’s what everyone is really trying to achieve, because golf is about putting up the best score and if it helps your team then that’s fantastic.” Wolff told Sports Illustrated. He added that he’s healthy.
Wolff walked away when asked if he would like to join another team. He stared at the question, shook her head and then walked off.
Wolff’s name was removed from Smash GC social media pages after the WD event in D.C. Wolff earned $2,951,667 in eight events so far this year and is currently ranked higher than Koepka’s brother Chase in the LIV standings (28).
