Matthew Wolff thinks Brooks Koepka should have handled his criticism directly as opposed to through the media.
Koepka is the captain of LIV Golf’s Smash GC team, and told Sports Illustrated earlier this week that he’s “basically given up” on Wolff.
In a statement to SI, Wolff responded to the remarks, calling them “heartbreaking” and saying that he has been battling public mental health challenges.
“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,” Wolff’s statement said.
“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.”
Wolff has had five straight poor performances in LIV tournaments, including a 44th-place finish last week in Spain and a withdrawal after 36 holes where he was ranked 46th out of 48 contestants.
Koepka comments had painted Wolff as a quitter.
“I mean, 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 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.”
In his statement, Wolff said that Koepka communicating through the media is not the type of leadership he would hope for.
“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 Ike my game is turning for the positive,” the statement continued.
“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.”