Matthew Wolf is 25th in the LIV Individual Score for the year. Photo: Getty Images/Octario Passos
LIV London kicked off at the Centurion club on Friday in stunning scenes where Matthew Wolfe declares he is “heartbroken” and “immeasurably disappointed” after a vicious public insult from his team captain Brooks Koepka.
Even by LIV standards, this contradiction is extraordinary. On Thursday, Koepka shamelessly challenged his American compatriot. “I mean, when you get out of your round, you give up and all that, it's not a competition,” Kepka told Sports Illustrated.
“I'm not a big fan of this. It's very difficult to maintain even a team dynamic when you have one guy who won't work, one guy won't put in any effort, he'll quit the game, break his clubs, fall down, bad body language, it's very hard. I was basically disappointed in him – a lot of talent, but I mean the talent is wasted.”
Kepka was referring to Wolf's performance in Washington, D.C. in May when he withdrew from the final round, finishing 46th in a 48-man field after 36 holes. Koepka apparently assigned his three colleagues from Smash GC, including Wolf, Jason Kokrak, and brother Chase Koepka, to lead the morning workouts in the capital.
Koepka, who won the USPGA that same month, was outraged by the attitude of Wolf — the 24-year-old who made history by placing first in the top five in his first two majors — and the young Californian was removed from the Team Smash website. However, there were no other gaps in any of the other 11 LIV teams, so Wolf was forced to stick with Kopka – and vice versa – but his results barely improved. On Sunday, he finished 44th in Spain.
However, Wolf was so devastated by Kepka's comments in the iconic American sports magazine that he released a statement ahead of the shotgun start on Friday afternoon.
“I read the SI interview with our captain Brooks Koepka and it was very disappointing,” he said. “When I decided to join his team in 2023, I did so with great optimism about my new home on Team Smash and, last but not least, the opportunity to be around and learn from a Brooks-like player.
“Like everyone who has ever played the game at the highest level, I have had competitive moments in the past where I felt like I let myself down and even others in our new team environment. It was quite difficult for me.”
Wolf retired from the sport for two months after being banned from the 2021 Masters. “I just wanted to stay in my bed, not be in front of everyone and screw up in front of everyone,” he said later that year, showing that the pressure was huge.
Without a doubt, the multi-million dollar deal was one of the main factors that motivated him to move to LIV, but he also felt that the team environment would be good for his mindset.
“It's not something what a team member wants to hear from their leader”My mental health issues on and off the golf course are well documented,” Wolf continued in a statement. “I face these problems every day. However, while my 2023 season has not been what I had hoped for so far, I have made positive strides in managing my life and feel like my game is changing for the better.
“To hear from the media that our team leader has abandoned me is heartbreaking. This is not something a team member wants to hear from their leader and I think we all know that these comments should have been treated very differently. But I keep moving forward and never give up. While the results on the track may not seem like a positive sign right now, I'm trying to win an even bigger game with my life.”
Wolf must have been close to pulling out of the £20m tournament. at Hemel Hempstead, but he decided to go through the awkwardness of coming out of the eighth tee with Chase Kepka and Cockrack. Brooks Kepka went out in second, along with Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.
Unsurprisingly, Wolf and Kepka shot with two points and equal par respectively, trailing Cam Smith by eight to 63 years.
“Finally, I believe Brooks wants the best for our team,” Wolf said. “But it's hard to imagine that his comments in a recent interview with SI are in any way aligned with those priorities. This will be my last comment on this. Today I'm heading to the Centurion Club to help our team win this week. I appreciate everyone's continued support and your respect for my privacy.”
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