It appears that there is some conflict between teammates on the LIV Golf circuit between Brooks Koepka and Matthew Wolff, and it’s led to quite a few reactions on social media.
This week, Brooks Koepka absolutely blasted his LIV Golf Smash GC teammate Matthew Wolff, claiming that he had “basically given up on him” due to what he perceived as a lack of competitiveness. But this week Wolff clapped back at Koepka, calling his comments “heartbreaking” and questioning Koepka’s ability as a leader.
Here is the full statement from Wolff, via Sports Illustrated:
“I read the SI interview with our Captain Brooks Koepka and it was beyond disappointing to me. When I chose to join his Team in 2023, I did so with much optimism about my new home as part of Team Smash and equally as important the chance to be around and learn from a player of Brooks’s stature. Like everyone who has ever played the game at the highest level, I have had competitive moments in the past that I feel I have let myself down and even others in our new team environment. This has been quite difficult for me. My challenges on and off the golf course with my mental health has been well documented. I deal with those challenges every day.
“However, while my 2023 season has not been all I had hoped for to this point, I have made positive strides in managing my life and feel like my game is turning for the positive. To hear through the media that our team leader has given up on me is heartbreaking. 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. But I’m moving forward and won’t ever give up on myself. While on course results may not appear now to be positive indicators, I’m trying to win an even BIGGER game with my life.
“Finally, 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. This will be my last comment on this matter. I’m heading out today to the Centurion Club trying to help our team win this week. I appreciate everyone’s continued support and your respect for my privacy.”
It’s a brutal message to Koepka, and it generated plenty of reactions on social media.
Team golf is still new to most players! As captain, Koepka needs to treat this with care.
— Andrew johnson (@_Solomonisland_) July 8, 2023
Nothing Brooks says should hold enough weight to break a heart. He isn’t worth that.
— COA Golf (@golfplanners) July 8, 2023
https://twitter.com/JohnRoby22/status/1677494620693970944?s=20
Golf is a hard game. Wishing Matt the best. https://t.co/z2Q1PkWlSr
— Jeremy Schilling (@jschil) July 7, 2023
Petty squabbles and partnering with the Saudis will do nothing to help pro golf grow. They're stuck in a post-Tiger (yeah, time to admit that) morass, with no golf version of Kobe or LeBron to follow their Jordan (Tiger).
Anyways, I look forward to napping through The Open. https://t.co/tqxrI70SLJ
— Joel Mendelson (@JPMendelson) July 7, 2023
Brooks is no leader and that interview cemented those facts.
— Sandy Duggan (@SandyMDuggan) July 7, 2023
We’ll have to see how Koepka responds.
