Brooks Koepka, a professional golfer from the United States, has once again drawn attention to LIV Golf. This time he used one of his mid-irons to hit the mental struggle – a third rail in modern sensibilities.
In recent years you couldn’t miss the fact that more and more emphasis has been placed on the athlete’s mental health and the need to de-stigmatize their occasional or constant need for emotional assistance.
The cracks of our collective psyche have spawned entire industries, from literature to pharmaceuticals.
Some will say that it’s good because previous generations ignored these things and many lives were negatively impacted.
Some people think it’s bad when they hear that something worthwhile is being overdone. They say we’ve gone too far in the direction of over-coddling.
Choose your favorite.
This past week, the emotional side of sports was highlighted in golf — perhaps the mental sport. In this game, fractions of fractions are the difference between success or near-critical failure.
Even the best golfers in the world have experienced periods of self doubt, self criticism and sometimes self hatred since Old Tom Morris’ yips with his putter destroyed the game. The golfers have either increased their efforts and dug deep into the dirt in order to find answers or taken a few weeks off from their practice to fix the problem.
Matthew Wolff has dealt openly with his mental side. He was considered a rising star, if not an absolute must-see, a few short years ago. In 2021, he took two months to make improvements and get away. In an interview with Golf Digest two years ago he stated that he sometimes just wanted to stay in bed, not be in public and not make a mistake in front anyone.
He made the switch to the LIV Tour last year either to break cleanly or to take advantage of the good money. Due to LIV’s desire to introduce a team concept into professional golf with semi-juvenile names, Wolff was placed on the four-man Smash GC team, which Brooks Koepka “captained”.
Matthew Wolff takes off from the 12th hole during the first round at Rich Harvest Farms. (Photo: Jamie Sabau/USA TODAY Sports)
Wolff’s performance has not improved much. Wolff’s performance in recent tournaments has been poor.
Also, Wolff’s captain is a tough guy. This should not surprise anyone who has observed his behavior on and off course.
Koepka stated in an interview that “When you quit your round, give up, and stuff like this, that is not competing.” “I don’t like that.” You don’t work hard. “It’s very difficult.”
Brooks stated that it was impossible to create a cohesive team in professional golf, especially when you have a player who is unwilling to work. “He’s not going to put in any effort. He’s going quit on the course. He’s going break clubs. Get down. It’s very difficult.”
Many of us withheld payment for the team, but not because we were expecting this level of nastyness. It got worse, by the way.
Greg Norman, who insisted on selling team golf year-round, was the one to introduce this new concept.
Brooks stated that he had “basically given up” on Wolff. “A lot talent, but the talent is wasted.”
Yikes.
Brooks Koepka of the USA hits a shot in the second round at the LIV Golf Tournament in Adelaide, Australia on April 22, 2023. (Photo by Brenton Edmonds / AFP).
Golf is not football. If it was football, Wolff might tighten his laces and tape up, or redouble his efforts to overcome his mental obstacles.
The captain’s remarks appear to have had a completely opposite effect.
Wolff told SI in a press release that it was heartbreaking to hear the media say our team leader had given up on him. “But I will never give up and keep moving forward.” “While on-course results might not seem to be positive indicators now, I’m still trying to win a bigger game in my life.”
Even imagined negativity is enough to ruin a golf day. So consider the damage that could be done (and continues to be caused) by such a public criticism. Don’t imagine it. Look at the facts: In the opening round of Friday’s LIV Tournament in London, Wolff shot a 2-over-73. He was tied for 38th place out of 48 players, and 10 shots behind leader.
The score of his team was not among the top three scores, so it wasn’t included in the leaderboard.
Bobby Jones, the great golfer, once said that golf was played on a 5-1/2-inch course – between your ears. He could never have imagined the situation, but he was aware of it because even though he won, it tore at his heart every step of way.
You’re probably familiar with golf’s greatest players, as well as the near-greats, and those who could’ve beens that couldn’t overcome whatever demon entered their bloodstream.
LIV Golf, despite all the hoopla surrounding it and its millions of dollars, has given us something interesting to watch. Matt Wolff is a young golfer with obvious skills. Hopefully it will all work out for him.
Golf’s only guarantee, however, is more stress. Some manage it, others respect it. Some do, and some don’t.
— Reach Ken Willis at [email protected]
