05 August 2023 , 14:09
1090
0
Matthew Wolff has given Brooks Koepka plenty to think about after a record breaking opening round at LIV Golf Greenbrier.
Koepka captains Wolff as part of Slam GC in LIV's team format and slammed his fellow American back in July, and while admitting it left him 'heartbroken', Wolff is proving his doubters wrong on the greens in West Virginia just two events later.
Following a torrid start Wolff managed to claw his round back to get a two-shot lead, carded three late birdies for a 9-under 61. - tying the lowest ever round in a LIV Golf tournament. He now sits two shots clear of David Puig and Harold Varner III on the Old White course with two rounds left remaining, edging closer to that $4 million first prize..
Wolff' round matches Branden Grace's record, whose first round at the inaugural LIV Golf Tulsa event in May set a new benchmark
Wolff's impressive performance under Koepka's captaincy comes just months after a public spat between the pair. The Smash GC captain hit out at his teammate after Wolff withdrew from had LIV's recent event in Washington ahead of the final round.
Bubba Watson shares details of horror knee injury ahead of LIV Golf debut
“I mean, when you quit on your round, you give up and stuff like that, that's not competing,” said Koepka in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “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 responded to the criticism in another interview with Sports Illustrated. "I read the SI [Sports Illustrated] interview with our captain Brooks Koepka and it was beyond disappointing to me," he said.
"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’ 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 Ike my game is turning for the positive. To hear through the media that our team leader has given up on me is heartbreaking.
With two rounds still to go, there is still work to do for Wolff, but after finishing day one on top of the leaderboard he refused to get too drawn into the situation with his captain,
“It's just golf, you play bad and then you play good.
"Like I said, I'm accepting the fact that just because I played well today, it might not go the same tomorrow or might go just as well.
“At the end of the day, I'm doing what I can and trying to shoot the lowest score I can every day. I promise, I'm trying.”