Brooks Koepka is not afraid to say whatever comes to mind.
Before the LIV Golf event in London this week, Koepka criticized Matthew Wolff, his Smash GC teammate, for ‘giving up,’ per Sports Illustrated.
“When you quit on your round, you give up and stuff like that, that’s not competing,” Koepka said. “I’m not a big fan of that. You don’t work hard. It’s very tough. It’s very tough to have a team dynamic when you’ve got one guy that won’t work, one guy [who] is not going to give any effort; he’s going to quit on the course, break clubs, gets down, bad body language, it’s very tough.”
“I’ve basically given up on him—a lot of talent, but I mean, the talent’s wasted.”
That’s one of the problems with the team golf concept. You are somewhat reliant on others; something the sport of golf doesn’t generally deal with outside of the Ryder Cup.
Sir Nick Faldo alluded to this same problem, using it to make the case that team golf is not here to stay.
Wolff has struggled with his mental health and confidence over the past few years.
At the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, Wolff held the 54-hole lead by two strokes over Bryson DeChambeau. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy used his length to tackle Winged Foot’s difficult layout and carded a 5-under 65 Saturday to put himself in position to win his first major championship.
But Wolff completely unraveled Sunday, shooting a 5-over 75 to finish six strokes back of DeChambeau, who won his first major.
A year later, he admitted he was struggling with his mental health in an interview with Golf Digest.
“Sometimes I definitely take that for granted,” Wolff said in 2021. “It’s hard when you’re out there working really hard and feel like you’re ready for a tournament and then going out and not performing.”
As his confidence plummeted, Wolff defected to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour in 2022.
Since joining LIV, Wolff has played for two teams: Hy Flyers GC, captained by Phil Mickelson, and Smash GC.
Wolf joined Koepka’s Smash GC in 2023 but has yet to record a victory on the breakaway tour.
Instead, Wolff caught an onslaught of criticism from his captain and subsequently issued his own response.
“To hear through the media that our team leader has given up on me is heartbreaking,” Wolff said. “It’s not what a team member looks to hear from its leader, and I think we all know these comments should have been handled much differently.”
“I trust Brooks wants what is best for our team. But it’s hard to imagine his comments in his recent SI interview in any way line up with those priorities.”
According to Sports Illustrated, Wolff, when asked if he wanted to join a different LIV Golf team, shook his head and walked away.
Perhaps Koepka should make amends with his teammate, or a rift on Smash GC will continue throughout 2023 and maybe beyond.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.