LIV Golf star Matthew Wolff bounced back in style after a nightmare 2023 season.
The 25-year-old was traded to Bubba Watson‘s RangeGoats GC during the offseason amid a poor run of form and public spat with Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka.
Wolff has returned to form this season
After Wolff’s final-round withdrawal in Washington in 2023, Koepka launched into a stunning tirade against his teammate.
“I mean, when you quit on your round, you give up and stuff like that, that’s not competing,” he said.
“I’m not a big fan of that. You don’t work hard. It’s very tough.
“It’s very tough to have even like a team dynamic when you’ve got one guy that won’t work, one guy 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.”
Wolff was handed a second chance after being swapped for last year’s money winner Talor Gooch ahead of the current campaign – one of the first ‘trades’ to happen in LIV’s unique team environment.
“I know I’ve got a lot of skill and a lot of talent,” Wolff said after the trade.
“For me, the main thing is just mentally making sure that I’m in a good spot, I’m enjoying where I’m at and I want to be out there.
“Being on a team with Bubba, I think he’ll definitely be able to help me out with that aspect.
“But more than anything, just kind of getting me in a position where I feel like I can thrive and be myself. I really feel like it’s a good fit here.”
Koepka has moved to bury the hatchet
Watson is facing relegation from LIV GolfGetty Images – Getty
Wolff has grabbed his shot with both hands and finished 22nd in the money list on $4.85million – well ahead of Watson, who is relying on a loophole to dodge relegation and only just behind Gooch, the player who replaced him on Koepka’s squad.
The skipper knew he was taking a risk with the trade as Gooch was in demand after racking up three wins in 2023.
“I’ve always wanted Wolff. I think Wolff is such a great talent and a great kid,” Watson said.
“I knew the world would see this as dumb. But at the same time, if I’m taking a chance to come to LIV, people may have seen that as dumb at the time.
“And now people see it differently, right? Two years later, they’re like, ‘Hey, LIV’s not that bad.’”
Koepka racked up $11.63million in earnings to scrape into the top five, with Gooch finishing 16th.
“Look, I have no problem with Matt,” Koepka said in May.
“We just didn’t gel, see eye to eye on how things were or how I thought they should be. I’ve always liked him as a person.
Jon Rahm is the man to beat in LIV GolfGetty
“I think he’s a great kid. I’ve said that to a bunch of people even behind closed doors during everything last year.
“It was a good thing for him to leave the team and go to the RangeGoats, and it was a good thing for our team.
“Look, he’s fine. He seems to be playing better, in a better head space, better form, better everything.”
