LIV Golf's Matthew Wolff Says Brooks Koepka's Quitting Criticism Was 'Heartbreaking'

LIV Golf's Matthew Wolff is not happy with comments made by Smash GC captain and teammate Brooks Koepka.

Wolff issued a statement to Alex Miceli of Sports Illustrated on Friday:

"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."

Koepka turned heads during an interview with Miceli when he questioned Wolff's competitive spirit and work ethic.

"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."

Wolff got off to a quick start during the LIV season with three top-10 finishes. However, he has struggled of late and is 27th on LIV's money list.

He withdrew from a May event in Washington, D.C., ahead of the last round and finished in 44th place in his most recent showing in Spain.

Koepka is one of the most high-profile golfers on the LIV circuit with five major championships on his resume, including the 2023 PGA Championship.